New Beginnings, The AnkhShifter, Book One
by Witchy Nike
Summary: Nike has never known what a normal witch's life should be like; she's been on the run from the best wizarding authorities in the world all her life. But then again, Nike is FAR from normal. Add the Marauders and a new/old threat, things get complicated, fast. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE!OC/OC/SB LE/JP NT/RL Set in Alternate Time Note: The story's planned for four or five installments
1. Summary

Nike has never known what a normal witch's life should be like. On the run form the best wizarding authorities in the world and the Hogwart's staff, even her old, comfortable life in the wilderness seemed ordinary. Finally caught, she's thrown on the Hogwarts Express and is shipped off to the famous school. There, she meets the troublemaking Marauders and temperate Lily Evans and clumsy and quick tempered Nymphadora Tonks. Just as everything starts to go right for Nike, who realizes Hogwarts isn't so bad when she has friends and family, what else should happen other than professor Loony (Luna) Lovegood foretelling the greatest evil of all times, the Dark Lord Voldermort, returning? Even Nike can tell things aren't always what they seem at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

OC/SB LE/JP NT/RL

AT

Book One in 'The Ankh-shifter' series

Please read! It really isn't that bad….unless of course my friends have been lying to me…..


	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter One

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

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><p>Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the home of many legends and tragedies, was now my prison. After many years of running and hiding, they had found me. So they dragged me, kicking and screaming and putting up one hell of a fight, to the Hogwarts Express. They locked me in one of the compartments and strode away, bruised and hurt, not eager to meet me again.<p>

I shook myself out of my memory as I heard many voices all at once. I had been sitting here on this train for about five hours, and just now the other students were boarding.

I leaned back in my seat and watched many kids, all different genders, shapes, sizes, colors, and ages, walk excitedly past my door, chattering to friends, family, or whoever would or wouldn't listen to them.

None of them even glanced inside my compartment, so I guessed it was either under some invisibility spell or they were warned. I could care less which it was. Actually, I was kind of glad. Besides, it wasn't like I would smile, wave, and welcome them. No, I'd be trying to rip their heads off and wipe their perky little smiles right off their faces.

I closed my eyes, just wishing the next seven years would hurry up and fly by. But my wishes never came true, and I could tell I was still thirteen. I had four years to learn whatever they were going to teach us, then three years to stay there and do god-knows-what for the three years after that. Brilliant.

I opened my eyes and saw a handsome teenage guy staring at me with a curious expression. He was tall, had blackish grey eyes that suggested he knew a secret and wasn't going to tell, and he had wavy black hair that went down to his shoulders. He was dressed casually in blue jeans, black t-shirt, and black tennis shoes.

He saw me looking at him and stared back at me straight in my eyes. He gave me a dazzling smile, showing off white teeth, and then walked off.

"Stupid boy," I muttered, lying back on the seat.

I closed my eyes as the train started to move, and braced myself for a long ride.

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><p>Too soon it seemed that the train slowed down and then gradually came to a stop. I stood and went to my window, looking at my surroundings. I saw trees that looked black in the lack of light that the night had. I saw a dark lake off to my left that had many little boats with lights attached to them pulled up on the shore. Off to my right were carriages pulled by strange skeletal almost transparent horses that had wings. <em>Must be the thestrals,<em> I thought. I heard the other kids unloading, but I didn't turn around. I didn't want to see their way-too-happy faces…and not to mention that stupid, conceited boy.

I watched as kids loaded the boats, leaded by a strong looking man in his mid-twenties who looked like he hated his job. The older kids checked in with an older woman who had an old looking emerald green cloak on, and then boarded the carriages with their friends. After both the boats and the carriages left, a soft but firm knock sounded on my door. I growled and turned around, glaring at whoever was there. My glare was replaced with surprise. I had expected someone from the Ministry, but walking into my compartment was a young man, maybe about twenty or twenty-one, who was definitely _not_ from the Ministry. He didn't have that stuck-up air about him.

For a moment we just stood there, each sizing the other up. He didn't look _that_ strong, but he was tall, and it seemed from the look in his eyes far wiser than I could have thought.

"Are you Nike?" he asked, his voice soft and calm.

My glare returned. "Who else could I be?"

He smiled a little bit. "You're not what I expected. You must have calmed considerably, deeming you don't seem like a wild animal that has rabies."

I almost smiled. Was that what they thought? "Let's just say I'm mad beyond words and action." I stalked past him into the hallway.

He grabbed my arm and peered into my eyes. "Don't try anything, okay? I was instructed to bind you with magic, ropes, and shackles, but it doesn't seem polite now that you're acting like a civilized person."

"You'll change your mind later on," I muttered. His grip tightened on my wrist, and his bright blue eyes flashed. "Fine," I grumbled.

"Good. Now hold on tight," he said, offering me his hand.

I just stared at him like an idiot. "Are you joking with me?"

As a reply he grabbed my hand, and we flew forward, spinning and tumbling forward, sideways, backward, up, down, and just about any way you could move. My heart was in my throat when it felt like we were falling off of a cliff to our deaths. It was completely dark, which freaked me out even more. I wasn't afraid of the dark; I just wanted to see how I was going to die. I had issues like that.

Then, out of nowhere, it was extremely bright. I wrenched my hand out of the man's and I started to fall even faster. My back hit something hard and (thank god) solid, seconds later. My head fell down next and was hit with even greater force, which made my vision swim. I blinked a couple of times and realized I was in a beautiful old hall that had stone floors, huge staircases, and walls that had an assortment of things hanging upon it, ranging anywhere from pictures to swords and shields to cases that held trophies and medals.

I felt a hand on my arm, lifting me up. I stepped quickly away from the man.

"Are you completely mental?" I yelled. "What in the bloody hell was that? You can seriously kill someone doing that!"

He was shaking his head. "That was Apparating. It would only have killed you if you would have let go just a second sooner. You're lucky we were already in this room when you let go of my hand."

"Lucky?" I exclaimed, immediately angry with myself when my voice came out as a shriek.

"Come. You've missed your first year here, so you'll be Sorted now." He walked to two huge oak doors that I had overlooked earlier. I followed him hesitantly and he opened the doors. Together we slipped quietly inside.

We were in a room that appeared to be a cafeteria, filled with hundreds of students sitting at long tables that looked like benches. The kids that had gotten on the boats were in an aisle between the four tables. They were clustered together, each one trying to make their way to the front of the line. Despite them trying to look brave, they still looked like scared little rabbits. Sitting at the table/bench things were all of the other older students.

Up on a raised dais was the same green cloaked woman who was still holding a scroll, watching a small girl who sat on a wooden stool with a pointed black hat on her head. It took me a moment to notice the hat was talking.

"Wha—" I started to ask.

"That is the Sorting Hat," he said. "Follow me." We walked around one table to the front of the room and climbed the stairs up to the dais and walked over to a table filled with adults, who I guessed were the teachers or whatever they were called. I stood at the foot of the stairs and watched as he talked to a middle-aged man who seemed to be at the middle of the table and sitting on a throne-like chair. They talked, and they both looked over at me.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" something yelled. I looked over and saw the small girl prance over to a table that was cheering wildly. The older woman had the Sorting Hat in her hands and walked over to the two men. She crossed a name off of her scroll, and then looked at me, then at the two men. The middle-aged man, who I guessed was the headmaster, walked over to me followed by my escort and the woman.

"We finally meet, Miss Nike." His voice was gentle and kind…at the moment. I knew I of all people would probably change that. He held out his hand for me to shake, but I just stared at him. People started to whisper. He sighed and dropped his hand at his side. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Professor Vera, Headmaster of this school."

"Oh…so it's you and the Ministry that I owe my thanks to. I'm grateful that you and they dragged me here. It's just the place I want to be, ya know? 'Cause I tried _soooo_ hard to get here, and I just couldn't do it on my own," I said sarcastically. "And my name is pronounced _nick-ee_, not _nii-k_, got it? I'm not a goddess." Someone laughed, and was joined by two others when the lady with the scroll glared at them. I looked over and saw it was the guy from the train and two others. I rolled my eyes.

The headmaster stiffened. "Mark," he said, addressing my escort. "I thought you had said she was different then we had originally thought."

My escort, Mark or whatever, paled a little bit, which made me notice he had _really_ red hair. "She was." He looked at me, trying to tell me to knock it off. I shrugged my shoulders at him and gave him a fake smile. His face hardened and all friendliness evaporated.

The headmaster gestured to the lady, who came over. She handed him the dusty old hat. "Thank you professor." She nodded in response.

"Surely another Slytherin," Mark muttered to the lady. Professor Vera looked at him sharply at that, and then placed the Sorting Hat on my head, and the room seemed to bristle with tension. The hat was extremely silent.

It finally spoke, to me and no one else, its voice sounding old and young at the same time. "Hmm…now you're a confusing one, aren't you? I haven't had one like you in years…and he made his way to greatness… What should it be? Smart and clever enough to be a Ravenclaw. Loyal and sometimes patient enough to be a Hufflepuff…" _What does it want? A lifetime story? _I thought.

"That's not necessary," it answered with a sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Let's see, where was I? Oh yes… Cunning, evil, mean, and terrible enough to be a Slytherin. And of course! Daring, brave, and true enough to be a Gryffindor." The Sorting Hat paused. "So…which shall it be?" I looked at the three professors and saw them waiting impatiently and uneasily. Apparently, as the Sorting Hat had said, this wasn't normal and rarely happened.

"You belong to… Yes! I've got it! Just like him… GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat yelled enthusiastically so all could hear. There was cheering coming from the table my escort and I had walked around, the one with the guy from the train. I took the Sorting Hat off my head and handed it back to Professor Vera.

Mark stomped down the stairs and grabbed my arm in a steel-like grip. Apparently this professor was through being friendly with me. Told you I could change anyone and everyone.

"Good luck to you Nike! I'll be seeing you soon…" the Sorting Hat called cheerily.

Professor Mark dragged me into the hall and up the moving staircases. I didn't worry about them though, not with the red-headed professor who at this moment had a fiery attitude and was about to tear my arm up if he didn't let off some. We walked down another hall, but this one was lit by floating candles instead of a chandelier, and around many twists and turns. Finally he stopped in front of a portrait of an enormously large woman dressed in a pink old-time dress.

"Little bit early for students, isn't it professor?" the picture asked. I jumped a little, surprised. I had known pictures in the wizarding world moved and some could talk, but I didn't expect them to sound so…human.

"This is the special case. A lot of trouble, she is," the professor explained politely.

"Ooohhh…I didn't think you had actually found her…I thought the others were fibbing. And Peeves has finally shut up about her, so I figured there was no such luck."

He snorted at the word _luck_. "I'm starting to wish the Ministry had insisted she stay hidden. Don't you worry; Peeves'll be at it night and day after he lays eyes on her."

"Hey!" I said. "I'm right here!"

"Right," he muttered. "How could I have forgotten?"

"Password?" the woman asked, down to business.

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"If you don't make any friends, then come and find me and I'll explain," he said bluntly. Then, to the portrait, he said, "Parseltongue."

"I still think it's a password for those Slytherins," she grumbled as the picture part of her portrait swung forward off of the golden frame, like a door. The professor walked through the tunnel-like passageway and I followed. The picture covered the opening without a sound.

I didn't get a chance to look around because we headed straight up the stairs. As soon as we got to the top, we stopped. There were tons of doors on both the left and right.

"Girls on the left, boys on the right. There's a living room downstairs. Tomorrow, if you stay out of trouble, you can look around the school," he said, looking tired. "Your room is the very first one. You'll have roommates, thankfully only two, so try and act civil."

"Always," I replied.

He looked at me in a way that shut me up. "I mean it. I know you're not that bad. Why you were being so horrible a few minutes ago…it's not really you."

"How do you know?" I asked, trying to keep the anger and sarcasm out of my voice.

"The fact that you're a Gryffindor proves it." I laughed at him and stopped at the look on his face.

"Oh. You're serious. Okay. I'll try." But the way he said it…it made me think that he actually _knew _me.

He looked somewhat relieved. "Thank you. By the way, I'm Professor Mark Weasley, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." He held his hand out and I shook it.

"Nike. Obviously you know I don't have a last name and I really don't care."

He smiled and all the tension left. For some odd reason, I felt like I knew this wizard. "Maybe here at Hogwarts you'll find one _and_ you'll care about it."

"Maybe." I doubted it.

"Good night Nike. Try and behave. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night Weasley." He shook his head but didn't bother to tell me to use the correct form for his name. He was halfway down the stairs when I called, "Hey Weasley?"

He turned around and looked up at me. "Yeah?"

"You're not that bad. For a teacher, I mean."

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><p><strong>AN: So, this is my first Fanfic. Here's how this story came about: when ideas (like this) come into my head…I have to write or else I can't move on. I read the Harry Potter series, and as many of you probably did, I fell madly in love with Sirius Black and fell apart when he died. That's why I'm writing this. To bring him (and the others of course) back. **

**If you liked it, hated it, have any advice or ideas…please let me know! Oh, and from what I've heard, reviews are a big thing…so please review!**

**Nike **


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Two

Making Friends…Kinda

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><p>I woke up about an hour and a half later when the door to my dormitory opened and light pooled in. A light appeared and then was extinguished immediately.<p>

"Sorry! I didn't know…"

"No, it's OK. You can turn it back on or whatever you did." I got out of bed and looked at the two girls who were standing in the doorway. Both were _really_ pretty. The one who had spoken was average height, and had beautiful green eyes, wavy fire-red hair that fell down to the middle of her back, and she wore a caring expression. The girl behind her was taller than the first, a couple inches shorter than me, and had short violet hair, brown eyes, and looked kind of thoughtful.

"Hey," the taller girl said, stepping inside the room and dropping her trunk by her bed. "aren't you…"

"…the one who was a complete jerk to the Headmaster? Yup, that would be me."

The shorter one shook her head slowly. "I didn't think you were a first year…none of them are that brave to stand up against the Headmaster on their first day. But we'd never seen you before and with the Ceremony…we didn't know what to think."

"It's kind of a long story," I said. Definitely not something I wanted to get into with two complete strangers.

As if she read my thoughts, the tall one said, "That's okay. Maybe when you become more comfortable around us."

The shorter one held out her hand and I shook it. "I'm Lily. Lily Evans."

"And I'm Nymphadora Tonks," the tall one said, shaking my hand. "But don't call me Nymphadora. Tonks is just fine." I laughed. I liked these two, and already I knew we were going to be friends and I was comfortable with them.

"Nike. Don't have a last name."

"Yeah, you're name is pronounced _nick-ee_, not _nii-k_." Tonks smiled.

"That's fine," Lily said, unpacking her trunk.

"You're not what we thought you would be," Tonks said, pointing a dark brown stick that she had in her right hand at her trunk. Her trunk opened and emptied itself and the contents put themselves away.

She looked over at me and laughed. "What? You don't do magic?"

"Yeah, I do, but…we have to use _that__?"_ I had seen the people who came to take me down use them, but I thought it was some weapon that only they used.

"Use what?" Tonks asked.

"_That_," I said, pointing.

"A wand?" Lily asked. "As far as we know, yes, you do, or else you can't control your magic."

"Oh, well that's great. I'm a freak."

Tonks smiled wryly. "I'm gonna get along great with you."

"Haven't you got one?" Lily asked, appearing to be the reasonable one of the two.

"I don't have many things that you guys have got."

"Didn't you receive the letter?"

"No. They could never find me." Now Lily and Tonks were both curious. I sighed. Obviously I would have to tell them some of my story. I would give them a short, summed-up version.

"I never knew my parents. Ever since I was born I've been alone, kind of, living in the woods."

"How did you survive when you were too little to do anything for yourself?" Tonks looked puzzled.

I smiled at my memory. "The animals. What else?"

"What kinds?" Tonks asked, perched on her bed, fascinated.

"All of them. Every single one that lived nearby."

"How did they get along? Don't different animals eat each other or fight?" Lily asked, appalled.

"They managed to put their differences and separate needs aside. They all took turns to watch over me and taught me many different things."

"How long did you stay there with them?"

"Until I was five. Then Ministry of Magic and the people here found out about me."

"How?" Tonks and Lily said in unison.

"I don't know. But one day the animals and I sensed something was amiss, so we decided it was best that I went away. A couple of days later I found out I had magic, and I automatically knew about the wizarding world, the schools for other kids of my kind, and the Ministry."

"Did you ever get close to getting caught?"

"A couple of times. But I fought them off with magic and physical force."

"Wow. How long have you been on the run?" Lily asked as she finished unpacking.

"Eight years," I said, proud of myself.

"It's amazing that you were never put on the wanted signs. We almost thought they were bringing a criminal here," Lily said.

"There were rumors about you going around, and yes, some of them were that you were a very dangerous and highly wanted criminal who they were bringing here to Hogwarts. They thought once you arrived here you would kill us all," Tonks said.

"And you believed that one?" I asked, smirking.

"No, not really," Lily said.

"Anyways…four boys overheard some professors talking about you, who they called 'The Fugitive' and the rumors flew. Most of them were started by the four who wanted to get a good laugh at everyone who was scared and freaking out. Months after the first rumor, more horrible ones came, and then out of nowhere, just before we got out of school last year, Professor Vera announced you would be here this year. Of course, none of us believed him. So all of us returned to Hogwarts and many more arrived. Then Aurors were standing outside the train and they demanded that we stay away from the first compartment, they even said we better not even glance inside. Nike, I just can't believe you managed to beat up them Aurors! They're supposed to be the hardest ones to beat! They're the best out there, the most brilliant fighters in the world! How'd you do it?" Tonks asked. Clearly she was a fighter too.

"How'd you finally get caught?" Lily asked, rolling her eyes at her friend.

"I messed up and there were way too many. I'd rather not get into it, if you don't mind," I said as the unpleasant memory came to me.

"Oh," she said. We were all quiet.

"So… How can you do magic without a wand?" Tonks asked, both curious and wanting to change the subject.

"I don't know. Concentration is really all I need," I said, grateful for the subject change.

"Well you're going to need one here or else you probably won't be able to participate in the classes," Lily said. "It's really quite astonishing how you get your wand."

"Why?" I asked.

She laughed. "It picks you."

Just as I was about to reply we heard a yell.

"JAMES POTTER!"

Lily and Tonks rolled their eyes. "Now what did that jerk do?" Lily asked, exasperated.

"Who?" I asked.

"Come on, you're going to meet the boys who heard about you first," Tonks said, and we walked out the door.

A short small boy was standing at the top of the stairs, glaring at a tall slightly muscled teenage guy that had untidy jet black hair that stuck up in all directions and black rounded glasses that covered his mischievous crystal blue eyes. Standing next to him was an unnaturally tall and pale guy that had short light brown hair, pale blue-ish-gray eyes, and two long jagged scars that went from one side of his face to the other. And standing on the other side of the one in the middle was the guy from the train. They all were extremely attractive, and they were the three guys that had laughed during the Sorting Ceremony.

"What Kyle?" the middle guy, James, said, bored.

The small kid, Kyle, yelled, "Don't _'what'_ me Potter!"

By now there were other kids coming out of their rooms or looking up from downstairs to see what the commotion was about.

"What else should I say then?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You jinxed me!" Kyle accused, ignoring his question.

"James?" The guy from the train laughed. "He'd _never_ do something like that. Would he Moony?"

The taller guy smiled, which made him look a lot less scary and intimidating, and said, "I should think not, Padfoot, my friend."

James nodded at his two friends. "You see Kyle? You should watch yourself before you start blaming people. Next time if you accuse me without proof, I won't be so forgiving. Next time I'll—"

"You'll do nothing!" Lily said, stepping forward angrily. The four guys turned to look our way.

"Good evening Evans," James said, smiling warmly, the arrogant look disappearing. Lily's eyes narrowed. He sighed and said exasperatedly, "What have I done to you now?"

"Nothing to me. But you're a complete berk to everyone else," she said, trying to not lose her temper.

James looked at Tonks. "Nymphadora—"

"DON'T CALL ME _NYMPHADORA_!" Tonks yelled, her hair turning an even brighter red then Lily's. Wow. That was an awesome trick.

"She's gonna bite your head off, mate," the guy named Moony muttered.

"I just might, Lupin, and yours'll be next," Tonks hissed. The guy named Padfoot laughed and Moony (Lupin?) turned red.

"Oh we haven't forgotten you, Black," Lily snapped.

"Yeah, because you could—" Padfoot (Black?) started to say.

"So these are the neighborhood idiots who need to be put in their place?" I asked Lily and Tonks, stepping forward so I was even with them and not hidden behind them anymore.

A hushed silence filled the room as every pair of eyes fell on me.

James' eyes widened and Moony/Lupin cocked his head like he was a dog. Padfoot/Black smiled and said, "I don't think we're number one on that list."

James regained his composure and followed along with his friend. "How right you are! I think we may have dropped down to the number _two_ spot. What a shame."

I could see where this was going. I walked forward until I was standing directly in front of them.

"Oh I'm sorry. I know how much it must be hurting you three to finally realize you're a bunch of nothings. Is there anything I can do to help ease your pain?" The room filled with laughter and James and Padfoot/Black got really mad while Moony/Lupin chuckled good-naturedly.

"Sure there is Nike, my friend," Tonks said evenly.

"Cut their big fat heads off and replace them with much smaller and smarter ones," Lily said, her face lit up with joy, as if this was something she had been waiting for.

"Hmm…" I said, tapping my foot. I turned to Kyle. "What do you say boy?"

He was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face. I wasn't sure if they were caused by the spell James had put on him or the show that was going on. I mean, I didn't think it was _that _funny. "I think that's a wonderful idea!"

I turned back to James, Moony/Lupin, and Padfoot/Black. "Shape up or I just might agree to what our friends are wanting. You got it?" I stepped forward so I was almost touching them, and all three took an automatic step back, knowing that right now, I probably wasn't a force they should/could reckon with.

I smiled sweetly at them. "Good-night boys." I turned around and walked back into our room, Lily and Tonks right behind me. They closed the door and we all started to laugh.

"Thank you," Lily managed to get out.

"You're really a good friend," Tonks agreed.

I fell back on my bed, happy for once in a long time.

After we had all calmed down, I asked, "So what's the deal with them?"

All happiness faded.

"The ringleader, the one with untidy hair, is James Potter, Quidditch superstar and heartthrob. He thinks he's so cool and irresistible. He carries a Snitch around and purposely messes up his hair so it seems he just stepped off his broom. He's a total arrogant fat-head and he thinks that everyone is beneath him and should fall at his feet and start worshipping him like he's Merlin himself," Lily said furiously, clutching a pillow in a death grip. I had no idea what some of those words meant, but I knew now was not the time to ask.

"Remus Lupin, the tall one, is more mysterious of the three, but is just as much of a twit as the rest of them. He thinks he's too good for everyone except his friends, and he thinks he can break the rules and do whatever he wants—"

"Yeah, but they all do that," Lily interrupted Tonks. I got the feeling Lily didn't mind this Lupin kid at all.

"He's worse though," she argued.

"True, I _guess."_

"Anyways, girls chase after him almost as much as they chase after Potter and Black, although I can't see why—"

"He's really sweet, nice, caring, and smart," Lily offered. Tonks ignored her.

"But of course, like his cronies, he refuses them all and acts like he's too good for them," Tonks finished, glaring. Her jaw was set. I could tell she disliked this one the most out of the three.

"And the third?" I asked when it seemed they weren't going to say anything. Both looked over at me.

"Sirius Black," Tonks said. "Every bit as arrogant as the other two except even more so, and he's _such_ a total _prat_. He's got a sharp tongue and is _always_ speaking in the Sarcastic Language. He and Potter are practically brothers; they've known each other forever I guess." I could believe that. When I was next to him, there was that really almost overly confident air that surrounded him. Not that that was a bad thing…although it could be.

"He hates it when people stand up and defy him, especially when they make a fool of him and his friends," Lily looked at me with pity at this. "and always gets them back pretty bad. He absolutely loves his revenge."

"Of all three he's the most favored of the girls and a select few guys, he's handsome obviously, he _does_ everything right, if you know what I mean, and he's extremely smart, yet it never shows, does it?" Tonks asked, smiling slightly.

"Doesn't seem like it. Things'll change though. I may be just as bad as they are—"

"No!" they both exclaimed.

"You're really not that bad," Lily said.

"You were probably just really mad that they had dragged you away from your home without a choice. I know I would've been," Tonks agreed.

I sighed. They and that professor sure relied on this house that I was in for judging me. Why?

"I'm probably more like them than either of us'll want to admit, but that's okay. I'll change, and so will they."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Tonks laughed.

I grinned. "Both."

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><p><strong>AN:** **So…I know this chapter was kind of boring. No, scratch that, it was definitely **_**really**_** boring. But I had to introduce Lily, Tonks, and the Marauders somehow. Not to mention how the girls feel **

'**bout them. Hope I didn't put you to sleep or anything. Promise the next chapter will be better! Well, at least it **_**should**_** be better…I think it is at least. **

**Oh, and I have officially finished writing this story as of right now and am starting on the second installment, but I'sa updating this one chapter at a time to see if you people are actually reading this, and if it's worth my time to put it up here for you guys to read. And if not…oh well, I write for me and my friends…**

**And Oh my god! I've gotten my first review ever! Thanks so much Rumbledroar's Army! Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you!**

**And you know what else is truly amazing? I already have two people (TWO!) that have added this story to their favorites list! Thanks you two! You rock!**

**And yes, I might sound crazy right now…but I'm very, very happy. I had no idea that something like that would happen already.**

**Anyways…please review!**

**Nike :) **


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews Rumbleroar's Army! They are greatly appreciated!**

**Okay, to answer your question….yes, Peter will be here, it's just he's late to Hogwarts (I explain in Chapter 4). Even though I didn't like Peter in the real HP books, I just couldn't leave him out. He has a big part in this story of mine….. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Three

The Torture Begins

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><p>I woke up to the rising sun. The only thing that was missing was the sounds of the animals starting their day. <em>That's odd,<em> I thought. _Where is everyone? What's…? _And then I remembered and the last eight years, and yesterday came flying back to me. I remembered where I was, and I knew my life was never going to be the same ever again. It was going to change, it _had_ changed, and the change was going to keep on coming.

Just then an owl flew in front of our window and stopped in midair, staring inside. It waited a minute, and then pecked at the glass. I waited for it to fly away, but after it continued to peck at the glass, I decided it needed something, and I was a sucker for animals, obviously. I went to the window and opened it. It flew in and landed on the coat rack, looking at me intently. I walked over to it and saw it had parchment tied around its foot with a red string.

"What is it?" I asked.

It cocked its head to the left. "Your class schedules of course!" it said.

"Why didn't they just bring them here themselves?"

It cocked its head to the right. "You are new here, are you not? You are not like the others, and to state the obvious, you are talking to me."

"Why wouldn't they talk to you? It seems pretty shallow of them. I'm Nike, and you are…"

"They cannot talk to us; they cannot even understand us. I am Lark." His eyes got bigger as realization of what I said sunk in. "_The_ Nike? I have delivered many messages about you. My family and friends have told me about you too. And may I say, your kind has a very different opinion of you then my kind does."

I smiled wryly. "Thanks. Glad I'm oh-so famous these days."

He cleared his throat. "If you do not mind…" Lark looked at his feet.

"Oh! Right, sorry." I untied the string and unwrapped the three pieces of parchment from around his leg. "Thanks."

"Uh-hmm. Nice meeting you Nike. It is nice having someone new to talk to around here." And with that he flew out the window. I went over and closed it, then looked at the pieces of parchment that had our names on them. First day of school. _Great_.

Someone coughed. I turned around and saw Lily and Tonks sitting up wide-eyed.

"Where you just _talking_ to a _bird?"_ Tonks demanded.

"No. An owl." Tonks rolled her eyes.

"How? It's an animal and you sounded just like it. Unless…are you an Animagus?" Lily asked.

"What's an Animagus?"

"Never mind, you're obviously not. How'd you do it?"

"I was raised by animals, remember?" I held up our schedules. "Lark brought these." They got up and took their schedules and read them. I opened mine to see if I'd be able to understand any of it.

_6-8 am—Breakfast/Mail_

_8:15-9 am—Potions_

_9:15-10 am—Transfiguration_

_10:15-11 am—Herbology_

_11:15-12 pm—Flying Lessons_

_12:15-1 pm—Lunch_

_1:15-2 pm—Charms_

_2:15-3 pm—Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_3:15-4 pm—Divination_

_4:25-6:30 pm—Study/Free Time & Extra Circular Activities_

_6:45-7:05 pm—Supper/Announcements_

_7:20-8:55 pm—Free Time_

_9:30 pm—Lights Out_

_Midnight on Monday s, Wednesday s, and Friday s—Astrology {unless stated otherwise}_

_Saturdays once a month starting in October—Hogsmeade {unless stated otherwise}_

Tonks peeked over my shoulder. "At least we've got Herbology together." She turned to her friend. "What about you Lily?"

Lily compared ours to hers than she told me, "I've only got Herbology with you, too." Then to Tonks she said, "I've got everything but flying lessons with you; that's when I've got Advanced Potions. So I'll be able to keep you out of trouble, or at least try to, about 95% of the time."

"What's Hogsmeade?" I asked.

"It's a town that's within walking distance from here. Once you're in your third year, you're allowed to go unless you get in trouble, you're sick, and then there are many other reasons," Lily explained.

"I'm hungry," Tonks said. "And you must be starving Nike. I don't think you'd gotten to eat last night."

"Nope," I agreed.

"Let's go to breakfast then," she said. They each got their uniforms out of their dressers and Lily sighed when she looked over at me.

"They didn't get you anything you needed, did they?" She shook her head in disbelief. "I'd offer you one of mine, but you're probably a foot taller than me." She looked at Tonks.

Tonks frowned at me. "And I thought I was tall. You're about three inches taller than me."

"Do we have to be in uniform? What's the difference between the clothes I'm wearing and those? They're both black." Lily laid hers out on her bed. A nice white long sleeved shirt with a collar was under a black sweater-type-thing that had maroon and gold stripes around the cuffs and v-neck. Above where her heart would be was a golden lion reared up on its hind legs in a fighting-stance. A satin maroon and gold striped tie lay next to the shirt. The skirt was nice looking and black and her shoes were shiny black dress shoes. There was also a long black robe. It was nice, I had to admit. But not to them.

"We have to wear skirts? Are you kidding me? How are supposed to move around? What happens if we need to fight?" I demanded.

"Who knows? Dress code. You have to wear it," Tonks said, smiling.

"That's their problem, not mine," I told them.

"You don't get it," Tonks said, the smile gone. "You get detention for not being in proper uniform, among other things."

"So what am I going to do?"

"Let us get dressed and we'll ask the older girls if they'll lend you one of theirs," Lily said.

"If you say so."

Two minutes later I was following Lily and Tonks down the hall. We stopped at the second to last door down our hall and Lily knocked on the door.

A few seconds after, a lofty pretty girl with light blonde hair and golden brown eyes opened the door. She smiled as soon as she saw us.

"Mornin you three!" she exclaimed. "Nice show last night. Just what the first years need to get comfortable."

"Glad you enjoyed it Lenna," Tonks said.

"Can we ask you a favor?"

"Sure Lily, what is it?" Lenna asked kindly.

"Our friend here was dropped off here with nothing, including a uniform. I figured you were close to her size…"

Lenna's eyes met mine. She smiled and offered her hand out. I shook it.

"Lenna Shards."

"Nike."

"Oh yes, us Prefects were warned about you. Hold on just a sec and I'll get you a uniform." She disappeared and returned a few moments later with neatly folded clothes and a robe in her hands. She gave it to me.

"Thanks," Lily, Tonks, and I said.

"No problem. Just return it when you can get yours. No rush though."

"You truly are amazing," Lily said.

"Don't us Prefects have to be?" Lenna joked. "With the way you are, you'll be too, Lil. I've gotta run. See ya around!" We walked back to our room and I got dressed.

"Umm…guys?" I said. They looked up from the books they were reading.

"Yeah?" they said.

I held up the tie. "How does this thing work?"

Tonks laughed while Lily clucked her tongue. "Here," she said. "Let me do it." Lily took the tie from me and tied it under my collar and around my neck. "There," she said.

"Thanks. But are we supposed to breath?"

She grinned. "I don't think so."

"You'll get used to it," Tonks assured me. "Hey Nike?"

"Hmm?" I said as I slipped the black robe on.

"I never noticed before, but you don't have any shoes on." Lily and I both looked down at my bare feet.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," I said stupidly. "I've never worn shoes before."

Tonks reached under her bed and grabbed a pair of white tennis shoes. "Unless the professor's a total freak or a complete jackass they won't notice." She tossed me a pair of socks.

After I had them on (and it was very awkward. Who knew shoes were supposed to be so tight on your feet?) Tonks said, "Can we go now? I'm starving and I don't think I can wait much longer." To prove her point, her stomach growled loudly.

We made our way down the stairs in companionable silence. It was when we walked out of the portrait/door thing that I remembered the password.

"Why is there a password?"

"Simple. So no one that's not meant to won't get in. Safety precautions too," Lily answered.

Tonks snorted. "Yeah? In the past it's done them no good. If they really want to get in, they will. A prisoner from Azkaban has broken into Gryffindor before, about one hundred years or so ago."

"True, but it's tradition. The password changes every month, just in case you didn't know."

"What's Azkaban?" I asked, feeling very uneducated.

"It's the prison for our kind," Tonks said. I was about to ask more questions when she said, "This is the Great Hall." We walked into the place that I had been kicked out of last night. "The farthest table over there is for the Slytherins, who are a bad bunch, so stay away from them. The one next to theirs is Hufflepuff's table, and they're not bad people, so you don't have to worry about them. Next one is for the Ravenclaws, who are tricky ones. You never know which side they're on until they announce it. And this one is ours, and we are the best group you'll ever meet," she joked. "We always sit at our House Table. It's a rule." We went over to our table and sat at the end where it was empty. Tonks went for the food right away. Lily and I smiled.

"What?" Tonks asked. "I'm going through another growth spurt."

"She has a lot of those," Lily giggled. "and after she's grown a few inches, a week later she'll be back down to 5'3"." Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Where are all the teachers?" I asked, looking around. I only saw one older guy, and he was creepy. He had short greasy dark hair, black eyes, a gaunt face, and was all skin and bones. His nose looked as if it had been broken a time or two, and his clothes were completely obscured by his midnight black robes.

"They take turns sweetheart." I felt someone against my shoulder. I looked over and locked eyes with Sirius. "And that one right there," he continued, nodding his head in the direction of the creepy guy. "is Professor Damant, the potions teacher. He's also Slytherin's Head of House, and he hates all except for a select few."

"What do you want Black?" Tonks demanded.

"That's just what we were wondering," James said, coming up behind Sirius and I with Remus.

"Just trying to help out," Sirius said.

"It seems like you're trying to pull a James, mate," Remus said quietly. James elbowed him good naturedly.

Sirius stood up and looked down at me. "Word of advice, stick with his favorites and be a kiss-ass." They walked down farther and sat with another group.

"Don't listen to him," Lily said. "Professor Damant isn't _that_ bad."

"But of course Lily'd say that 'cause she's his all-time favorite," Tonks said.

"That would explain why you are taking two potions classes," I said, not taking any sides.

We ate in silence. The two were every now and then either rolling their eyes, muttering insults, or glaring in the direction of James, Remus, and Sirius, who were surrounded by a whole bunch of girls and some guys. When we finished eating Lily said,

"Want me to show you where potions is? He wouldn't mind seeing me and it might give you a good start."

I thought about it, and I almost agreed, but then decided against it because it wouldn't be me.

"No thanks. I don't want you to be late."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked. "Because it wouldn't be a problem."

"I'm sure. Besides, the only way I'm gonna learn my way around this school is if I learn by myself."

"If you say so," she agreed. Her and Tonks told me good luck and walked off.

I walked to the doors and decided to take a left. I walked for a little while and realized I had to be going the wrong way because I hadn't seen any students or adults.

I was just about to turn around when I saw something giving off this black glow. I walked over to the wall and saw the glow was coming from inside the wall. I knelt down so I was eye level with the glow and placed my hands on it. I took a deep breath and cleared my mind. Then I focused on the wall and what could be inside, willing the wall to move so I could see it. The wall shifted underneath my hands and the glow became brighter as the wall opened up. I reached inside and—

"Ouch!" I hissed, yanking my hand back. Something had both shocked and bit me at the same time. Determined to find out what it was, I stuck my hand back inside and grabbed something that felt ice cold. I picked it up and brought it out. It was a black necklace that had a beautifully carved wolf surrounded by an equally pretty silver crescent moon that had stars of the same color placed on it. A howl filled the room, and after a split second of confusion I realized it was the wolf. Its mouth was open and I could see sharp pointed teeth. The howling got louder and louder and I knew I had to get it to shut-up before someone came to see what the hell was going on. I hooked the necklace around my neck and the howling stopped. _Weird,_ I thought. I looked down and saw that the wolf's mouth had frozen in mid-howl, the moon and stars had stopped sparkling, and everything had stopped moving. I touched it and felt that it was still ice cold.

This was all confusing me, but I knew I had to get to my class and fast. Already I would probably be late. _Close,_ I thought to the wall. I heard the wall closing as I ran back down the hall.

"Aww…wittle witchy's gonna be verwy wate! Hehe! Wittle witchy's gonna be in twou-ble!" came a slightly annoying voice that was speaking like a baby. Not faltering my steps I looked up and saw a ghost was following me. The smile froze on his face. "Ooohhh! You not jwust any witchy! You _bad_ witchy! You the one Peevesie's been wanting to meet!"

I saw my way of not getting into too much trouble.

"Peeves is it?" I asked, coming to a walk.

"That's me! Peevesie at your service witchy Nike. Hehe! That rhymes!" he said, bowing.

I tried not to roll my eyes at him. This ghost was _so_ childish.

"Peeves." I stopped to make sure he was listening. He was. "I need you to take me to the potions classroom. Please."

"Come on Witchy Nike, wet's gwo! Peevesie'll show you the way to Pwofessor Damnit!" I chuckled. Was _this_ what the students called the potions master?

Peeves kept on talking and talking the whole time, but I wasn't paying attention to him or where we were going. My mind was focused on the necklace. Obviously it had magic; the whole episode that had just happened proved that fact. And the fact that it was magic must mean it had been or still is special, and that it must mean something. But _what?_

"Now it's wyour twurn Witchy Nike!" Peeves said, stopping in front of a huge heavy looking door that radiated something unpleasant.

"What would that be?"

"Make wots of twouble for Pwofessor Damnit!" he said, floating on down the hall.

"Oh I probably will Peeves," I muttered as I opened the door. Professor Damant was lecturing when I stepped inside. He didn't even look away from what he was doing and he didn't stop talking. A few people turned around to look.

"_PEEVESIE'S_ MET THE FAMOUS BAAAAADDDD WWWWIIITCH! WITCHY NIKEEEEE IS HEEEERRRE! WITCHY NIKEEEEE IS HEEEERRRE! SHE'S GONNA MAKE US PAAAAAYY! WITCHY NIKE IS GONNA GIVE PROFESSOR DAMMMMNNNIT _HELL_ FIRST! ALL OF YOU THAT CAN ARE GONNA _DDDDIIIIIIEEEEEE!"_ Peeves sang at the top of his lunges from somewhere down the hall, dropping his baby-voice.

Everyone covered their ears or heads. His song stopped the potions master who looked at me and out into the hall with a ferocious expression. I winced and cringed. Peeves had the most _terrible_ voice in history and he kept singing the same words over and over. He needed to be taught how to sing. Maybe I'd teach him sometime, starting with a song that's about if he ever tried to get me into trouble again he's gonna wish he wasn't here and this school was going to be hell for him as long as I was here. Some kids laughed while others shook their heads, moaned over the horror of this, or muttered to their partner.

Professor Damant was fuming. He stalked over to me and shoved me out of the way as he walked out into the hall. I regained my balance just as the professor screamed,

"SHUT-UP PEEVES! YOU STUPID IDIOTIC ANNOYING USELESS PITIFUL EXCUSE FOR A GHOST!" If nothing, that just made Peeves sing louder and more terrible.

His face bright red, Professor Damant stormed back in his classroom and slammed the doors shut behind him. He stood, towering above me, glaring with hatred.

"That ghost has got a pair of lunges on him, hasn't he? And quite the imagination, if I may say so," I said, looking him in the eye.

A couple kids coughed, covering their laughs. Someone muttered, _"__That's_ an understatement."

That did it for him. He blew his top. "SIT!" he bellowed. "AND NOT ANOTHER WORD FROM YOU FOR THE REST OF MY CLASS!"

"Yes, sir."

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?" he yelled.

"I was just answering you!" I snapped.

"SHUT-UP! WATCH YOUR ATTITUDE GIRL!"

"Seems to me I'm not the one screaming my head off here," I said, placing my hands on my hips.

"ENOUGH! DETENTION—"

"Oh come on Professor," said a voice that was becoming _way_ too familiar. I looked over at Sirius and saw him sitting in front of James and Remus. "It's her first day, and you know how Peeves is. He probably never even talked to her. He hates low-lives."

"_Excuse _m—" He cut me off with a look.

The professor's eyes narrowed. "You want to share her detention Mr. Black?"

"No, I'm just saying give her a break. She didn't do anything—"

"Yet," James muttered.

Sirius glared at him and continued, "Except be late, and if you have forgotten, she's like a first year, she doesn't know her way around this place."

Professor Damant took a deep breath. "Sit down. You better watch yourself," he told me. "Next time you'll get what you deserve when your boyfriend isn't here to look out for you." He walked back to the front of the classroom muttering something about how trouble attracts each other and creates mayhem. He flopped down at his desk and started flipping through his book angrily.

I went over to Sirius. "What was that for?" I whispered angrily.

He smirked. "Well you're welcome. Glad I could help."

"Sit down Nike. Trust me, you don't want to mess with him anymore today," Remus said. None of the guys looked at me with hatred, so I wondered if they had forgotten about last night's episode. Reluctantly I sat at the table next to Sirius and in front of Remus.

"I told you," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair. "stick with his favorites."

"You?" I scoffed. "One of _his_ favorites? Yeah, sure. I'll believe that when I save the world." Remus and James laughed quietly.

Sirius' eyes sparkled. "Okay, I'll remember to ask you after you're through with that."

"You'll be on a long wait then. 'Cause it's not goin to happen," I said, dropping my eyes. What was _with_ him?

"Let me tell you our secret," he said. "We got the top grades in this class, right?"

I started to make a smart-ass comment but James cut me off. "Of course we do. Well, your new friend Lily is above us, but we're right below her."

Sirius rolled his eyes and Remus said, "_Some_one is _loooove_sick."

"Shut-up man," James snapped.

"Anyways… We're nuisances to everyone, right?"

This time they let me answer. "Now _that_ I can believe."

"He hates us, as do most all professors, yes. But he's not too bad when we're in his class because we're some of the best they've got."

"I see how that works," I said. "Pretty clever of you. But I still don't believe you never get into trouble."

"We never said that," Remus said, smiling. "We get in more trouble than anyone else here."

"Except now we might have a run for our money," James said. "Our team is going to have the second spot in _this_ category too."

"So sorry. As soon as I figure out how to be a good little witch you can have your spot back."

"Thank you. We'd appreciate it," Sirius said.

"Silence!" the professor said, looking up to glare at us. Sirius, Remus, and James smiled.

"Now for the next thirty minutes you can do whatever you want and he won't notice. Not when he's in one of these moods," Remus said.

"Why?"

"He…has issues, to say the least," James said.

"Anger issues?"

Remus snorted. "That and many others."

I smiled to myself. It'd be easy for me to become friends with them. I had told Lily and Tonks I was more like them then any of us would like to admit.

* * *

><p>"What class have you got next?" Remus asked thirty minutes later. James, Remus, Sirius, and I were walking down the hall together. All the kids stayed clear of us; whether it was the guys' fault or mine or both, I didn't know.<p>

"Transfiguration."

"We've got that one with you then," James said. "You gonna stick with us or do you have others in mind?"

"Maybe she flies solo," Remus told James.

"Does this teacher hate you too?" I asked jokingly.

"Not as much as the rest," Sirius said seriously. "She's the Head of House for Gryffindor, and her family has been for years. And, between us and you," He looked around and lowered his voice. "she gives us a lot of chances. She has too much faith in us sometimes."

"Although you might have already made it on her bad-not-ever-coming-back-to-the-good-side list," James cut in.

"There's such a thing?" They nodded. "Who is it?" I asked. I couldn't think of any females that I had ticked off yet.

"You'll see."

As it turned out, they were right. I probably had made it on the bad-not-ever-coming-back-to-the-good-side list with her. It was the old lady with the clipboard.

We were the first ones in the class (which was an unusual thing from what I was able to gather) and she looked up as we came in.

"Good morning Remus. Good morning Sirius. Good morning James," she said. "Nike," she said in a dismissive tone.

"Good morning Professor McGonagall," Sirius said, politer then I had ever heard him before.

"Ma'am?"

"What is it Nike?" she said curtly.

"I'd like to apologize for the way I acted last night. I was… Well, what I'm trying to say is that I now know what I did was wrong and—"

She smiled, which made her look twenty years younger. "I understand Nike. We weren't very civil either, and we all, including the Ministry, owe you an apology also. Please, forgive us." She looked over us as more students piled in. "I can now tell you are going to be an excellent addition to Gryffindor." To the rest of the class she said, "Have a seat so we may get started!"

"Ha! You're a kiss-ass after all," Sirius muttered.

"I know how to play," I muttered back. Not to mention I kinda sorta meant it.

"So do we." We sat down, me next to Remus, Sirius behind me with James next to him.

"Before I tick her off like the last one, what's Transfiguration?"

"It's some type of magic. You can change object into different things," Remus answered.

"Today you are going to transfigure your partner into whichever _animal_ you want, and then you'll change them back to themselves. Both of you will get a chance to do it today, and you'll hopefully do it right. But don't blame me if when you return to your normal selves you're not really _normal_. For example…if you are missing something, or if something isn't right. Blame your partner. Now good luck and get started." Students started to move to find a partner. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention…the person you are sitting next to is your partner for today. So next time you set foot in my class, sit beside someone you trust with your life because you never know what we will be doing." People groaned and Professor McGonagall smiled. She was enjoying herself. "Carry on now."

I looked at Remus who was looking at me.

"At least I'm not paired with Sirius. This would be the time for him to get me back," I said, not entirely sure what Remus was going to do.

He laughed heartily. "So you heard about Padfoot–uh _Sirius_– and his revenge, eh? Usually revenge is something we all take part of; it's something we all like to do together." I felt the color leave my face; I was screwed. James and Sirius grinned.

"But," Remus continued. "I like you, and you're one of us, or I hope you will be, so…I won't purposely mess you up. If Sirius and James want their revenge, they can do it. I won't stop them, but I won't help them either." That made me feel a little bit better.

"Thanks. I think."

James rolled his eyes and turned to Sirius. "You're getting transfigured first." And not waiting for Sirius to reply, James said something and flicked his wand and Sirius turned into a cute orange cat with black jagged stripes.

Remus got a mischievous look in his eyes. He saw where this was going. "Don't worry," he told me. "This won't happen to you…yet."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

James smiled evilly. "Watch." He flicked his wand again and Sirius appeared, and I choked back a laugh.

"What'dya turn me into?" Sirius asked.

James shook his head, his eyes shining. "Oh, nothing too awfully bad."

Sirius looked at me and Remus, and his eyes narrowed. I tried not to smile. He stalked off to a wall that had glass hanging on it and whirled around when he saw what James did. He still had some cat features. He had tiny pointed orange ears with black stripes running up and down on the top of his head, whiskers around a human nose, bright green slitted eyes (which I had to say was the freakiest part because his eyes were normally so dark), and you could see a long tail dragging at his feet.

"JAMES! I _hate_ cats!" His yell kind of sounded like a "meow". We started to laugh. Sirius took out his wand, growled something, and flicked his wand furiously at James, who turned into a bright blue bird.

Remus laughed harder. "You _wouldn't_…"

"Oh but I would, Moony my friend, and I am," Sirius said, cracking a cat-like smile. When he smiled I noticed he had cat teeth, so I had to lean on a desk to keep from falling over. I hadn't laughed this much or this hard in years. Not since I'd been on the run…

Sirius shook his head, probably guessing what I had seen. He flicked his wand and James arose, and I fell against Remus, who was keeping me from falling and I was doing the same for him. James had a dull orange beak, tiny blue eyes, bird feet and legs, and huge enormous blue feathered wings.

Sirius nodded at his handy-work. James walked/hopped unsteadily over to the glass and it was his turn to glare at his friend. They just stood there while me and Remus laughed our heads off. Seconds later they joined in. I guess you could tell who the definite best friends here were. What had Tonks said? They were like brothers.

"Good _heavens_!" Professor McGonagall gasped, coming over to see what the racket was about. "Mr. Potter! Mr. Black! What have you _done_?"

"Just messing around ma'm," James answered in a chirpy bird-like voice.

"You _do_ know that it will take a few hours to wear off?" she asked, smiling at their deformed figures.

"Yes ma'm, we're very aware of that fact," Sirius answered brightly.

"Idiots," I muttered."

"I agree," she whispered to me. Louder she said, "Very well then." She turned to face me and Remus. "Let us see what you can do. Mr. Lupin?"

Remus stepped away from me, still smiling from ear to ear, and took out his wand. "Don't worry," he said. "I won't mess around just yet." Then he said something softly and pointed his wand at me and flicked it. I felt myself changing. I shrunk a little bit and fell on all fours; I felt my body changing, shifting into something else and I felt hair sprouting everywhere. My teeth lengthened and my fingernails grew sharper, harder, and longer. My ears felt like they were flattened, and I could've sworn I'd just made them move. I could smell and see much better. Then the changing stopped. I looked down and saw I had huge black paws and strong black hind and front legs.

I walked over to the glass and saw I was a huge black wolf/dog/bear with pitch black eyes and short yet flexible ears. I wagged my tail, which was pretty long. I opened my mouth and barked joyously and I saw sharp white teeth that looked deadly.

"Remind you of anyone mate?" Remus asked Sirius in a low voice so no one could hear. They must've forgotten I was a wolf/dog/bear now; I had supersonic hearing.

"Thanks Moony," Sirius said sarcastically. James tried to smile but he couldn't because of his beak.

"Alright, let's change you back Nike," Remus muttered, and he flicked his wand again. I felt myself turning back into a human. I looked at the glass and saw…me. I checked myself to make sure Remus wasn't playing any tricks on me. He wasn't.

"Told you I'd be nice. My turn!" Remus said. "Come on, change me," he said after I hesitated.

"I don't know how," I muttered.

"It's simple," Professor McGonagall said, not at all criticizing me. "Point your wand at whatever you want to transfigure, think of what you're going to transfigure it into, and then say 'fera verto'."

"Got it," I said. They all looked at me, waiting.

"Well…" James said.

"I haven't got a wand."

Professor McGonagall frowned. "I see…I'll talk to Professor Vera about this. We all figured you had one because of the things you'd done to the Aurors. After all, it seemed like seventh year magic." James, Remus, and Sirius all stared at me in shock and wonder.

"All I used was concentration, thoughts, and a will to escape and survive. At least, I think that's all I used, but now I can't remember. Magic just flows whenever I want it to now."

She smiled. "Well if you're that powerful and still getting even more so without a wand, there's no telling how powerful you'll be _with_ one. After this class I'll talk to the headmaster and we'll talk about taking you to Ollivanders. Now, let's see you try it." She turned to Sirius and held out her hand. "Hand it over." He grumbled to himself while he took his wand out of his pocket and gave it to her. She turned back to me. "Now I don't know if your magic will work properly with Mr. Black's wand, seeing as it chose him. You'll still be able to channel magic through it, but it might not work the same as you doing magic without one, or how you'll do magic with yours. So if everything doesn't turn out right, don't be hard on yourself. You'll know why. Now, since that's all taken care of…" Professor McGonagall turned to Remus, who looked like he was about to lose it. "Are you ready Mr. Lupin?"

He shook his head furiously. "No!"

"Good." She handed me Sirius' wand. It was made of some dark wood and it had beautiful designs on it. It looked about eleven inches long and it felt firm and sturdy. I pointed the wand at Remus, who was trembling, thought of an animal, and gently flicked the wand to the right. Remus started to transform. In seconds he looked exactly what I had pictured: a phoenix.

People gasped and crowded around.

"No _way__!"_ someone said.

"So _this_ is what a phoenix looks like," another said.

"Your wand worked for her!" James gaped. Sirius shook his head, astonished.

"Very good my dear," Professor McGonagall said enthusiastically. "What a beautiful phoenix… Brilliant creatures they are… They only go around those they think special…" She blinked, snapping out of whatever trance she had been in. "Bring him back, which is one of the trickiest parts. It'll be even more trickier if he sets himself on fire before you bring him back."

I pictured Remus in my head, pointed Sirius' wand at the phoenix, and flicked. Up came a surprised Remus.

He stared at me in disbelief for a second, and then smiled. "I didn't think you'd turn me back into me, or turn me into a phoenix."

"I always repay a good deed with a good deed," I replied, smiling back.

"Have you ever met one before? You'd have to have seen one to transfigure me into it." He looked interested in what I had to say.

"Yep. I've met many of them before. Their songs are beautiful; they'll break even the hardest soul, and light up the darkest one. They're that powerful. Especially when they are singing together." I walked over to Sirius and gave him his wand back.

"Thanks," he mumbled. He opened a book and buried his whiskers in it.

Professor McGonagall turned to the rest of the class. "Show's over. Get back to work!" The students went back to their desks and their spells. "Good job," she told us. She walked off to go supervise the rest of the class.

Remus pulled out my chair for me, bowing.

"Thank you. You're not at all how Tonks described you. Maybe a little bit weirder than she thinks, but I like that," I said, sitting.

He sat down next to me, frowning. "What exactly did Nymphadora say about me?" James leaned forward, and I could have sworn if birds could smirk, he did. Sirius looked up from his book.

I felt uncomfortable. "Nothing really, except that you're a total jerk who thinks he's better than everyone else and can break all the rules he wants to."

James patted Remus' back with his wing, which made Remus smile a little bit. "Tough luck man," he chirped. Sirius nodded sympathetically.

"Why? What am I missing here?" I looked at each of them, who all avoided my questioning gaze.

"Nothing," Sirius said, not looking up from his book. "Although you can do Prongs here a favor and tell him what his dream girl thinks of him."

Remus cracked another sullen smile while James blanched. He composed himself and said,

"We all know what she thinks of me."

"But you yet to hear all of it from an inside source," Sirius protested. He never took his eyes off that book of his. Was it just me, or was he trying to make a point to his friends? "Come on," he said to me. "Let's hear it."

"Who do you mean?" I asked, stalling for time. Now I saw where this was going. I did not want to get into this with them. I didn't know if all guys talked about girls with other girls, but I sure as hell didn't want to, especially because I didn't even know if we were friends. It might have been another story if we all were. But probably not.

"_Lily_."

I sighed. "She thinks he's ridiculous and that he's a git and he thinks everyone should treat him like he's a god. She also thinks he's a snob and is way too full of himself…" I looked at James and stopped. "…among other things. But I'll tell you one thing. If she thinks you look ridiculous when you mess up your hair and play with that Snitch or whatever it's called, she won't know what to call you when she sees you now."

Remus and James laughed. "Yep, can't wait to hear what they think of my new look," James said merrily. I sighed inwardly. I guess I had lightened the mood some.

"We all knew what they thought anyways. And besides…it's not like it's that big of a deal. It doesn't matter that much," Remus said. I nodded. _Sure. When you change, you might have a chance with them,_ I thought. Although I wasn't sure they needed to change anymore. I couldn't see anything wrong with them. I just think that Lily and Tonks didn't know them that well, or what lay beneath the surface. But that was just me.

"True," Sirius said airily.

I turned to him and snatched his book away. "Oh you don't want to hear what they have to say about you. Yours might just be the worst."

"I don't really care what they have to say about me. There's a big difference between _my_ feelings for them and _their_ feelings for them."

"Oh that's right because you can't settle with just one girl. You've got to have them all, right?" I said coolly. Remus choked and James turned away and coughed.

"Says who?" he asked.

"I'm an 'inside source' right? Well that's one thing that I will tell you."

"Seems to me they have no idea what they're talking about. They don't know me. That's _not_ how things are." He took his book back, grabbed his backpack, and walked out the door. Remus and James watched him go.

"I think you hit a sore spot there," James said.

"Well what else was I supposed to do?" I asked angrily. "You two were getting insulted, so why the hell not him too? You take things together don't you?"

"I guess."

"You know what? The truth always hurts."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ah Peeves…we all love him don't we? He's the Marauders' favorite ally. And mean old Professor Damant…he'll be a fun character to work with, I can assure you that. Professor McGonagall…her first name is Minerva…but no, she's not the same Professor McGonagall from the Harry Potter books, she's her great-niece. The old McGonagall is dead. If you haven't understood when this takes place…well you will later and everything will make perfect sense. Kinda. Poor James and Remus…the truth of Lily and Tonks' feelings for them come out…or do they? I think they took it pretty well, don't you? And don't you worry, Sirius will live up to his reputation of being a player, as I implied, it'll just…happen…differently. Also I hope I didn't disappoint you with the Transfiguration bit, it took me **_**forever**_** to figure out what James and Sirius were going to turn each other into. **

**Okay, I'm shutting up now. If you hadn't noticed, I like to talk. **

**Heads up! Next chapter is about learning how to fly.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Nike :) **


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: Thank you for the more reviews! It's nice to hear from others too! Thanks for your help Rumbledroar's Army, I took what you said into consideration, and…let's just say I've got it planned out how I'll fix my mistake in the next book.**

**Alright, as promised, here's two chapters.**

**On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Four

Learning How to Fly

* * *

><p>Turns out I had all classes with James, Remus, and Sirius except for Divination, which I had with Sirius alone. And the next class we had was Herbology, which I also happened to have with Lily and Tonks. The five of them in a room together…this should be interesting. Especially since I had befriended both rival groups, which I was starting to suspect was a <em>really<em> bad idea.

"I've never met anyone else that can do Wandless-Magic before," James said, trying to make conversation.

"I didn't know you absolutely had to use the…wait. Can you do magic without one too?" I asked, brightening up some.

James grinned and said, "Yeah, but I can only do a little bit."

"Like what?" He wasn't getting off too easily now.

"Well I can control a little bit of fire, like enough to light a candle. And I can control a tiny breeze; say enough to blow out the flame. Simple easy stuff like that. It's pretty hard, that's why I was surprised that you could do Wandless-magic in the seventh year level. It takes a _lot_ of concentration, and that's hard to come by."

"Really? I always thought it was easy. I mean, the more you do at one time, the harder it gets, but you'd have to expect that. It's pretty cool that you can do it too."

"It is. But it's a little bit strange to watch until you get used to it," Remus said.

"We should work with each other sometime so we can build up our strength," I offered to James.

"I'll take you up on that offer," James said.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"You gonna stay here with us too?" James asked as we walked inside a building that was located outside. According to James and Remus, it was called a greenhouse. It didn't look green to me though.

"I—"

"Nike! Over here!" Tonks called.

"Oh. I see," he said. They walked me over to where Tonks and Lily were standing. Tonks tensed and Lily's eyes narrowed. James shifted uncomfortably while Remus looked away.

"What do you two want?" Lily asked harshly.

"Just making sure Nike stays out of trouble," Remus muttered, not meeting their eyes. I smiled at him and James, trying to get them to loosen up.

"Did you seriously just say you're keeping her _out_ of _trouble_? I don't believe it. You're probably getting her in even _more_ trouble," Tonks scowled.

"She gets in enough trouble on her own," Lily agreed. Her eyes widened as she thought of something. "In fact, you probably set her up with Peeves, knowing Professor Damant would lose it! Didn't you!"

"So you heard him too?" I asked.

"That wasn't their fault," Sirius said, pretending to be interested in some plants nearby. "I did it without them. Revenge, you know?" James and Remus exchanged looks.

"Wh—" Sirius stepped on my foot hard (probably enjoying it), shutting me up. I could remember him saying _"I don't care what they say about me. There's a difference between _my _feelings for them and_ their _feelings for them."_ He may have been a jerk, but he was a good friend. And maybe, deep down inside, he was a good guy through and through.

Lily and Tonks looked like they didn't believe it, but just then they took a good look at James and Sirius.

"What the hell?" Tonks shrieked.

"What did you _do_?" Lily demanded.

James regained his usual easy-going attitude. "Transfiguration is fun today."

Lily almost smiled. "I can imagine."

A short stout man entered the door we were standing next to, wearing an apron and a busy expression. His appearance was messy, but he gave off an air of humor. He looked to be about fifty or so.

"See you later," Remus said to me, nodding in the direction of the other two.

"So…I see you've made new friends," Tonks said, not looking mad but not exactly happy.

I decided to be truthful. "I can't see what you have against them."

They exchanged glances. "That's what they do to you," Lily said. "Which one did you fall for?" I looked at her confused. "Never mind. You'll see soon enough."

"They seem a lot like me though," I told them again.

Tonks shook her head. "You're wrong," she said. Again. I started to protest so she said, "We'll talk about this later."

The Herbology professor said loudly above everyone else, "My name is Professor Longbottom." A couple kids snickered. "Yes, yes, I know," he said good naturedly. "Let's make one thing clear. You pay attention and do what I ask when I ask you to, I don't care what you do after- or before-wards, and most likely we'll get along. If you don't…you might not find any help or get any warnings when we get to some deadly plants." He smiled mischievously. "Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," everyone replied, not sure if he was serious or not.

"Of course I am," he said quietly. "Good. Now we can have some fun!" I seriously doubted it. I mean, we were learning about _plants_. Where was the fun in that?

* * *

><p>"Do you know how to fly?" James asked while we were waiting for the professor to come.<p>

"No," I said, looking around at the rest of the students. There were fourteen of us all, and all of them looked comfortable and so un-confused, whereas I was the exact opposite, although I tried not to show it.

"It's easy. But don't worry, it's not like she's going to have us play a Quidditch game on the first day. She'll teach you to fly first," James said, turning to me.

I wasn't afraid to fly; I just had a lot of questions, as usual. I was about to say such when a lean woman of average height that had long, curly auburn hair that looked about the same age as Professor Weasley walked out of a sheltered area blowing a whistle and lugging brooms and a leather box.

"That's Madam Adda Weasley. She goes by Adda, and she's a strange one," Remus said. I wondered if she was related to the professor. I'd have to ask him.

"Welcome to flying lessons!" she yelled through the whistle in her mouth. "Seems we have all Quidditch players from Gryffindor and Slytherin. Rivalry." She smiled. "Interesting."

"Uh-oh," a girl said beside us. "That can't be good…"

"Since we all know how to fly, and if not, you're completely dense; we're going to have a little friendly competition. A little bit of fun. Seeing as all of us are familiar with this sport…let's have us a game of Quidditch! What better way to start a school year then with blood and broken bones? And what better way to make new friends?"

I turned my head to glance at James who turned away quickly. "She won't huh?" I asked.

"Told you she was a weird one," Remus said.

"Alright! Captains… Potter! Malfoy! Front and center!" James and this tall white haired kid stepped forward and took a broom. As they did so, their clothes changed colors; James' turned maroon and Malfoy's went dark green.

"Sirius!" James called.

"Big surprise," a haughty looking boy said. Remus glanced at him sharply. Sirius walked up next to James and took a broom and his clothes, too, changed color. Team colors I guess.

"Bertrand!" Malfoy barked.

"Remus!"

"Durer!" Malfoy looked satisfied with how things were turning out. Bertrand and Durer must've been his friends.

"Nike!" It took me a minute to realize James had called me. Evidently I wasn't the only one shocked. The people standing around us (the Quidditch players) didn't seem too happy that I had been picked before them. Yes, they already knew what team they were getting picked for; I guess it was just a competition to see who got called first.

Remus tossed me a broom and I caught it instinctively. My clothes changed colors and I stood next to Remus.

"You should be fine," he muttered. But he didn't sound like he believed it.

"Coates!" Malfoy yelled.

"Capaldi!"

"Crichlow!"

"Farr!"

"Eaton!"

"Redgrave!"

"Volp!"

The teams were assembled, and I noticed Slytherin's team was made up of guys only.

Adda not looking at all surprised by the turnout of the teams, yelled, "Alright! You have one minute to assign positions!"

James' team looked over at me worriedly.

"What are we gonna do with her?" asked a cute blonde haired brown eyed guy.

"Forget that Derek! Where can we put her where she won't cause too much trouble?" asked a pale skinned girl with long curly black hair pulled back in a pony-tail, showing off amber colored eyes.

"But Jean, we can't leave _our_ positions! They've got their whole Slytherin team from last year!" another girl, one that had pale blue eyes and dark brown hair pulled back like the other one's, said.

"Guys calm down!" James said. They all shut-up, but they looked nowhere near being calm.

"It's not a real match," Remus agreed.

"Yeah but they'll treat it like one if they win," the brown haired girl protested.

"We'll get them back during the season Amata. There's nothing we can do about it right now," Derek said. He was resolved we were going to lose. They all were.

"Why not just put her as Keeper? If she does too horrible, we'll switch her out. Remus and I'll keep them away from her and the goals as best as we can," Sirius said.

Huh. Tonks and Lily hadn't told me he and Remus were Quidditch players too. Sirius avoided my gaze and the way he held himself made it seem like he was in a bad mood, so apparently he was still mad at me.

Before they could protest further, Adda blew her whistle and yelled, "Let's get this game started!"

James walked over to me and quickly said, "When you're on your broom, lightly kick off the ground. You see those six hoops?" I nodded. "You keep the red ball from going in those, so you'll have to fly around some. And just to warn you, the two black balls that are flying around everywhere, stay away from or else." He gave me a tight smile and patted me on the back (him and Sirius had changed back to normal towards the end of Herbology) and said, "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal." But I could tell it was a big deal. A _very_ big deal.

Adda blew the whistle, released a tiny golden ball, a medium sized red one, and two wicked looking black ones, and the game began.

I stepped on my broom and kicked off the ground, going into the air immediately. Almost as if I knew what I was doing, I guided my broom towards the six hoops and flew very fast and steadily. I reached the posts and positioned myself a couple feet in front of the tallest one and turned around to watch.

Jean had grabbed the red ball and flew towards the other goal posts, flanked by Amata and Derek. Three Slytherins were just seconds behind them. Sirius, Remus, and two other Slytherins went after the scary black balls, each brandishing a club-like thing. James and the Slytherin named Malfoy were soaring around, searching for something.

Sirius hit one of the black balls and it went flying at a Slytherin who held the red ball and was rapidly approaching me. He ducked just in time, narrowly getting hit in the face. I imagine that would have hurt. I saw him shift and could easily read his actions and what he was going to do. I dashed down to the lowest hoop on the left and intercepted the red ball. I threw it to Derek, who smiled and winked at me. I looked at the Slytherin smugly. _So much for that plan, stupid,_ I thought. I'm _not to be taken advantage of. _He growled at me then flew off after the ball.

I heard something coming toward me, and just as Remus shouted, "Nike!" I rolled over on my broom, watching a black ball fly where my head had been. It turned back around and came at me again. I flew up, and it copied me. I went down and to the right, and it mirrored my every move, and it was getting closer and closer.

"Aww crap," I muttered. Then out of nowhere I saw one of those club things pass right by my cheek. I heard it connect with the ball, and I turned around to watch it head off in search of a new available target.

"You're welcome again!" Sirius said, grinning. Then he flew off after another one of those black balls. Obviously he had forgiven me.

I looked over just in time to see Derek throw the red ball into the tallest hoop, right next to the Keeper-dude. The Keeper-dude wasn't quick enough. He wasn't the right build for this job either, I analyzed. _Way _too big. He couldn't move fast enough, either that or he was too lazy to. In fact, I was wondering how he'd even made the team as a Keeper-dude last year.

Just then James flew past me, after a glint of gold. Malfoy shoved me aside, almost knocking me off my broom, and trailed after him.

I watched as Amata passed to Jean, who scored again, then saw the other team heading my way with our team far behind. They tossed it back and forth to each other, trying to confuse me, but I saw what they were going to do seconds before they did it, and I made it look like they were incredibly stupid and threw it straight to me. I tossed it to Amata, and watched my team go and score.

Just as the red ball was in a Slytherin's hands, James yelled, "I GOT IT!" and he landed on the ground, holding up a tiny and shiny golden ball. Adda blew the whistle.

We all took to the ground and the looks of disappointment and misery James' team was replaced by joy and amazement.

"Oh. My. God!" Jean exclaimed, running over to me.

"How long have you been playing?" Amata asked.

"Guys, leave the poor girl alone," Derek said, coming up behind me. He smiled at me sweetly. "You were great out there. You're a natural, probably the best there's ever been!"

"I, uh…thanks," I stuttered.

His smile got even wider. "Any time. I meant it too." I looked away quickly. Well. Wasn't he sweet.

"You leave her alone Derek Farr," Amata said, shoving him aside playfully. She looked at me with a smile. "That girl right there is my best friend Jean Redgrave. I'm Amata Capaldi, and you've already met my idiotic cousin, Derek Farr." Now that she mentioned it, she and Derek looked a lot alike. They had many of the same features. "We were on Gryffindor's Quidditch team last year, and we better…" She raised her voice and looked at James who was approaching with Sirius and Remus. "…be on the team this year too." She lowered her voice to a normal tone. "Jean and I are fourth years and Derek's a fifth year."

"I'm Nike. A third year, I think." That made them laugh.

"Yes, you're a third year," Remus said, beaming.

"And you all will have to wait 'til tryouts and afterwards to see if you're on the team. As everyone else does. Besides, I might find someone better…" James said.

Jean punched him lightly while Derek rolled his eyes and Amata muttered, "Not likely."

"And _you_ Miss Keeper better show up or else. The team captain _might_ be in your favor."

"And if I don't?" I asked teasingly.

Sirius put his arm around my shoulders. "Hey, you're forgiven now. Don't show up, and you'll never be forgiven again. By any of us." He looked down at me and smiled. "And I might just drag you here myself anyways."

"You will huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"And we just might help him," Derek said, his eyes on Sirius with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"The team needs you this year Nike," Remus said quickly.

"Last year we had the worst season _ever_. Our Keeper _sucked_, but don't tell him I said that, seeing as he's my brother," Jean agreed.

I laughed. "Siblings are best friends, aren't they?"

She laughed too. "Yep! Of course they are!"

"So…tell us how you did that back there," James said. "Team captain's gotta know. Background checks and all."

"I don't think she'll pass that test, being a fugitive and all," Sirius said.

"No one but a certain three that I know has ever called me a fugitive," I pointed out.

"Will you come?" James asked, almost pleading. "We've _got_ to have you for the team. You actually looked like you knew what you were doing."

"I don't know about all of that, but I can read people easily. I could read the actions of the…people who had the red ball, and I could almost sense everything else around me. I reacted and relied on my instincts. Oh, and you should probably know Slytherin's…Keeper?…isn't the right type of person for his job. They should find someone else. I don't see how you couldn't have ever beaten them really bad."

"Sounds like a natural to me," Remus said.

"I agree. That's exactly what a Keeper's got to be able to do…they've, in a way, got to be the brains of the group," Amata said.

"They've got to analyze everything. That's why normally the Keeper's the team captain. But James here has been trying to do that part of the Keeper's job ever since his first year here," Jean said.

"Good game Gryffindor!" Adda yelled, shaking hands with James. "Gryffindor just might win the House Cup this year!" She lowered her voice. "Your team better, James. I can't stand it when the Slytherins are out here acting like they're better then all of the other Houses. It really ticks me off when they can't even fly, yet they still do it!"

"Slytherin is full of show-offs," Derek agreed, not bothering to lower his voice.

"That's true," said a cold voice. "But at least we have something to show-off, when Gryffindor can only show-off…what? Losers?" I looked over my shoulder and saw Malfoy flanked by Bertrand and Durer.

"Now that's enough," Adda said in a calm but firm voice, much like the one that Professor Weasley had used on me when we first met.

He ignored her. "It's obvious what happened." His friends crossed their arms over their chests at the exact same time. Bertrand had been the other Keeper, I realized, and both he and Durer were built exactly the same; they were _huge_. I could see them winning a fight. But I couldn't see them winning a fight against _me._

"What would that be?" James said coolly, taking charge.

"You used magic on her. No one, _especially_ a freak like her, is just _naturally_ that good," he answered with a smirk.

I stepped up. "Come on Malfoy. Be a man and accept defeat." I paused. "But then…I don't think that's possible for you…considering you seem like a whiny little sissy baby."

He and his friends looked surprised that I had stood up to him, especially with such a young, kid-ish response (but who ever said I didn't like to sound like an idiot sometimes?). But their surprise was quickly turned into anger. Bertrand and Durer popped their knuckles while Malfoy tensed.

"You stupid little mudblood!" he growled. "How dare you talk to a pureblood like that! You need to be put in your place!" He nodded at his friends, and they stepped forward.

"Oh, and you're going to be the one to do that?" I asked. I took another step forward so I was right in front of him, and cocked my head to the left. "I highly doubt a _low-life_ like you can do such when Aurors can't. But, if you insist, bring it fool." He and his friends looked unsure, but they weren't going to back down. Not now, and I knew that. I was going to welcome this fight. Gladly.

"I said _knock it off!"_ Adda barked. They looked over at her, and that's when Sirius punched Malfoy in the jaw. Malfoy flew back into his buddies, looking dazed.

"Mr. Black!" Adda yelled, but Sirius ignored her. He was fuming.

"Don't you _ever_ call her a mudblood!" he growled. James grabbed Sirius' shoulders and Remus took my arm, leading us away before we could cause any more trouble. "Or anyone else for that matter!" Sirius yelled back at Malfoy, who was getting up shakily and being restrained by Adda.

"This isn't over!" he yelled back, his jaw looking slightly disfigured. I was satisfied by that, although it would've been better if I myself had done it.

"Now's not the place Padfoot," James muttered.

"Yeah, we'll get him later," Remus said cheerfully, looking forward to it.

Sirius shook his head and grumbled, "The stupid git needs it _now_."

"Adda can only let so much go by before she gets caught for allowing it," James said, trying a different tactic. "And if they fire her, they'll probably find someone who works for the Malfoy family."

That made him quit. "I guess you're right."

"You all right?" Remus asked.

"Fine." It didn't sound _or_ look like it though.

"Nike?"

I looked over at them. "Huh?"

"You all right?" Remus repeated.

"Sure."

James looked at me with respect. "Were you seriously going to take on Malfoy _and_ Bertrand and Durer at the same time all alone?"

"Yep. Guess I was."

"Girl you got guts. And you sure made yourself an enemy," Remus said. "Not that we're not enemies with him already…but…he might just hate you more then he hates us combined now, which we all, and everyone else, thought was impossible."

"Good. I need some action around here," I said, smiling slightly. I looked over at Sirius, who looked angry still. "Although next time I'll do the fighting, okay?"

He looked over and smirked. "You do realize he's low enough to hit a girl?"

"Who said he'd be able to hit me?" Good. He was back to normal now. "I'm too good for him. I have plenty experience in fighting, believe me."

"Trust me, we don't doubt you there. You looked like some warrior-queen when you were taunting him. You really had us thinking you were going to knock them all out," James said, comfortable now.

I had tons of questions, but considering I had just gotten them out of a bad mood, I'd save them for later. If I had to deal with them for the rest of the day, I wasn't going to deal with them ready to snap at the slightest hint of a wrong move. There was only one more thing to get out of the way…

"Sure."

"Huh?" they asked.

"I'll come to your tryouts or whatever they're called."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: It takes me FOREVER to come up with names for certain characters. That's probably the hardest part! I mean, I have to find British first and last names…and it's just a little bit difficult. If any of you guys have some ideas for both boys and girls first and last names, please let me know! Trust me, with that part, I need all the help I can get.…**

**So…Nike's a Quidditch player huh? I had to have her participate in Quidditch because I love it, and I wanted to have her be able to do something else, instead of just watching the Quidditch games. I think it would make the games more interesting if we saw it from her perspective on the field instead of on the bleachers. You know what I mean? And the reason I picked Keeper for her position is because I can relate to it since I've been goalie for a couple soccer teams, and they're pretty close, don't you think? But you never know…Nike might not make the team! You'll have to wait and see…**

**Anyways…Slytherins (especially the Malfoys) I guess are just life-time enemies for Gryffindors (especially the Potters and their friends). **

**And Adda and Weasley are married, just to put that out there. I can't remember if I explained that later on…but it's not like it was going to be a big secret and surprise if I didn't.**

**This chapter we learned from Adda, next we hear from Weasley.**

**Please review!**

**Nike**


	6. Chapter Five

**A/N: Here's the other chapter I promised you for your reviews! Make sure you pay close attention with this chapter 'cause later on it will be **_**VERY**_** important!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Five

The History of Shape-shifters with Weasley

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><p>"Hey Weasley!" I yelled when we walked into his classroom. We had just come from Charms, something I wasn't allowed to participate in, so I had fallen asleep and gotten in trouble. But not too awfully bad, thanks to James who said he was just practicing a sleeping spell on me. The professor believed him for some reason and congratulated him for doing such a good job and praised me for willing to be the test-dummy. So now I think he expected me to be the boys' prop until I got my wand and could participate. Fun.<p>

"You're certainly in a better mood today," he replied with a warm smile. "And it figures you'd make friends with those three. Have you boys been keeping her out of trouble?"

"We're trying to," Remus said.

"But as you know that's no easy feat," Sirius added.

"That is true," Weasley agreed.

"Stop by on Quidditch tryouts though and you'll see _something_ she's good at professor," James had to add, not able to keep his happiness to himself.

"I just might do that," he said. "Alright, I hate to break it up right now, but I'll talk to you four later. We've got a lot to cover today, so we've got to get started."

When everyone was seated and quiet (Weasley must've been a feared and respected professor) he stood in front of the class and spoke. "This year we are going to be learning about the creatures out there and the ways you can defend yourself against them. So naturally you'll be learning about history too. I don't like it anymore than any of you do, so knock it off or else we will not fight against them in class!" he snapped when kids started to groan. They shut up. "Today we will be discussing shape-shifters. Who can tell me what a shape-shifter is?" He looked over at our table. We must be his pick of the day. "Nike?"

"A shape-shifter has the ability to change form, and I'm pretty sure there are different types," I replied automatically. James raised an eyebrow at me, apparently impressed I knew that much.

"Right, and what can the different groups do?" Weasley asked.

"Some change into animals while others change into humans. Some can change into things or objects, like a building, and others change into Earth's features, like water, trees, dirt, grass, etc."

"Very good! Twenty-five points to Gryffindor," he said, pleased. I'm sure I looked confused about the points or whatever, but Weasley shook his head. Add that to my list of questions. "Now, Mr. Potter, are there any other groups in the shape-shifter family?"

"I think so. There's a Boggart, which is almost like a demon and it changes into your worst nightmare or whatever scares you the most. It's usually the only type of 'shifter that exists that's classified as evil. And then there's a rare group of 'shifters that can change into anything and everything," James said.

"Right. Twenty-five more points to Gryffindor. Now, each group of shape-shifters—"

A boy from Hufflepuff raised his hand.

"Yes?" Weasley acknowledged him.

"Aren't Animaguses—"

"Animagi," Weasley corrected.

"Aren't Animagi and werewolves shape-shifters too?"

"Good question and five points for Hufflepuff. Animagi, werewolves, and shape-shifters are commonly put in the same category, but they are nothing alike really. They're all completely different things. Mr. Lupin, can you tell us why?"

Remus stiffened behind me and James and Sirius looked worried. "Animagi must go through a very long and difficult process and can only change into one animal after they've completed the process. They can't stop being an Animagus and they can't change animals once they're done."

"And a werewolf?"

Remus was quiet for a minute. "A werewolf doesn't have a choice. Once they get bit, they're a werewolf forever, and there's no changing it. Think of it as a permanent disease. On each full moon a werewolf will transform into a monster and have the urge to bite more humans and turn them too. A werewolf is so bloodthirsty, it could kill its best friend."

"Twenty-five points for Gryffindor," Weasley said. "Does everybody understand?" When no one replied he said, "Good, because tomorrow when you step in my class you will have a quiz about what those three kindly informed us of. Now, I'll ask one more time, are there any more questions?"

"But aren't werewolves fake? And the shape-shifters? Because if they all are, then there's got to be more monsters out there…like vampires," a Gryffindor girl asked.

"She must be a muggle-born," someone whispered.

"Five more points to Gryffindor for such an excellent question. They all are very real. Don't you worry, we'll be covering vampires and werewolves soon," Weasley assured her. I, for one, agreed with the girl. If vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters and whatever else was out there, wouldn't I have at least seen them? Maybe they had existed once and were all extinct now.

"Now, back to shape-shifters. Who knows the labels of the different groups? What about the symbols and what they mean? Can anyone tell me anything about those?" He received no response.

"Mr. Black?" he tried. Sirius just stared at him blankly.

Weasley sighed. I think he had expected more from us. "Okay, the group that is most common is the ÆnIml-shifter, which is the shape-shifters that can turn into any animal. The next three are tied; the Eorþe-shifter, which can shift into any of the Earth's features, the Persone-shifter, which can shift into any human being, Sustantivo-shifter, which can turn into any object or thing, and the Boggart, which as we all know, can shift into any of your worst fears or nightmares."

Weasley turned to a blackboard and drew something that looked like a crescent moon turned upside down so the sides were facing downwards with a star in the middle of the open area. On top of the crescent was a curved sword going through a pyramid. On the pyramid, located in the middle, was a pharaoh, and to the right of him was an oak tree. Above both the tree and the pharaoh was a falcon with its wings spread out, looking like it was flying away from the pyramid.

"All shape-shifters bear this symbol, which is simply called the Crescent, for obvious reasons. The falcon stands for the ÆnIml-shifter, the pharaoh stands for the Persone-shifter, the tree stands for the Eorþe-shifter, the pyramid stands for the Sustantivo-shifter, and the crescent moon and star stand for the Boggart." He had everyone's attention now.

"Why is the Boggart's symbol the moon and star?" a boy from Ravenclaw asked.

"Excellent question. Five points to Ravenclaw. Now, when do you have nightmares?"

"During the night, when you're asleep," the boy replied, realization covering his face. "Okay, I get it."

"Most of your fears usually lurk around at night too, do they not?" Weasley persisted.

"Yeah, I guess they do," the boy replied.

"All 'shifters have this symbol on the back of their necks. They are born with it there, and it will never fade. It will always be a dark black ink color and it is very elegantly drawn."

"Why are their symbols on them?" a Hufflepuff asked.

"No one knows, not even most shape-shifters know. The ones that do keep it a secret I guess. Ten points to your House for rendering the teacher speechless." The boy seemed pleased.

"The type of 'shifters that can change into anything and everything imaginable, including bringing your thoughts to life, is the Ankh-shifter. They have all the abilities of the other shape-shifters, except many more. The Ankh-shifters however, also have this symbol, but one other, which we do not know the name, so we just call the Ankh." He turned to the board again and drew something that looked like a cross with a loop at the top.

"No one really knows where this is located on them, because the Ankh-shifters are usually kept hidden and in secret because they are almost always in danger. Mainly because there is usually only one Ankh-shifter alive at a time. No one knows why, but as you can tell, they are the rarest kind of 'shifter. Yet they are believed to be the most powerful and dangerous."

"Why are they in danger if they are so powerful and dangerous themselves?" another Ravenclaw asked, bringing logics into this.

Weasley shook his head. "Again, no one knows. I think it's because the evil side wants to control their powers to take over the world. But, we'll probably never know."

"Aren't there kings and queens in their society?" I found myself asking. Everyone in the room looked at me like I was crazy. But Weasley just seemed impressed.

"Yes. Each type of 'shifter has their own royalty and their own king or queen that controls their kind. However, the Ankh-shifters are the elite group. They have a royal family too, but not only is that royal family's head in charge of all Ankh-shifters, they are the king or queen of all shape-shifters in the world."

"Why is there royalty and those who are in charge?" Remus asked.

"Well, again here we are not sure. But I think it is because 'shifters can get out of line and become a threat to every society," the professor replied.

"But if the Ankh-shifters are always evil…then how does that work? Do the other shape-shifters absolutely have to listen to the Ankh-shifters?" I asked.

"They're always evil?" a Ravenclaw girl asked.

"Yes, they are," Weasley said, giving me a peculiar look. "That's why all shape-shifters are generally considered evil. No shape-shifter can resist the order of the lead Ankh-shifter, not even the others of the Ankh-shifter royal family."

"How are they called to rule?" James asked.

"No one knows except the Ankh-shifters. But with the other types of shape-shifters, the one who will lead usually has an extraordinary amount of power that is unlike any other of their kind at the moment. Whichever family that 'shifter is born into, they become the royal family. Does that make sense?" There was a chorus of 'yeah's and 'yes sir's.

"Is there an Ankh-shifter alive right now?" Sirius finally piped up.

"No. Not that we know of," Weasley answered. "But there could be. Like I said, Ankh-shifters are rare and are usually kept hidden, even from themselves. They don't look odd or superhuman or godly, they look like a normal human-being, or we have reason to believe they do."

"Oh," Sirius said. He sat there thinking for a moment. "Then who controls all of the shape-shifters right now?"

"When there isn't an Ankh-shifter, all the lead shape-shifters of every group form this council, and from there they rule and make decisions. Hence why the shape-shifters as a whole are generally peaceful right now."

"So the council doesn't exist when an Ankh-shifter is leading?" I asked.

"That's up to the Ankh-shifter. But in the course of history, that's never happened."

"Okay, wait. If there's only one Ankh-shifter at a time in a long span of time, how do they reappear? How is that possible?" a Ravenclaw asked.

"It only takes one parent to be an Ankh-shifter and all the children of those parents will be Ankh-shifters, and so on and so forth. Ankh-shifters also live longer than our kind does, and longer than the rest of the shape-shifters. They live even longer if they are part wizard too. They could practically live forever if they were given the chance."

"That's possible?" Sirius asked.

"It is possible for there to be half-and-halfs for all shape-shifters, but they're rare and powerful."

He looked at a silver watch on his left wrist. "I hate to say it, but we're out of time for today. We'll get to more of this tomorrow. Like I said earlier, when you step in my door, be ready for a quiz. Tomorrow we will learn a little bit on how to fight some of these 'shifters if you ever come across them and they are a threat." Kids started to buzz with excitement. "You may go now," Weasley dismissed us.

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><p><strong>AN: I created all of this using different languages for certain things. Sustantivo means either 'thing' or 'object' in Spanish. Persone means 'person' in French. Æn****I****ml means 'animal' in French. Eorþe means 'earth' in (I think) French. And then Ankh means 'life' in Egyptian, and the Ankh is a symbol that the pharaohs usually wore. And of course I didn't create the Boggart, but my research said they were a type of shape-shifter, so it works out just fine I think. Trust me, there's a reason for this lesson, but you'll see why in a different book…(the title's a hint, really).**

**Anyways, hope you liked it and it didn't bore you! Next chapter has an old favorite! Trust me, you'll love her!**

**Oh, and if even more people review, the deals the same! I have plenty of chapters to spare…I am currently writing the 28****th**** chapter of this book…so there's a lot more!**

**Please review!**

**Nike**


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N: Sorry this is so late with an update. We've been SUPER busy!**

**A/N2: I just wanted you people to know that I am writing what will be the (is it called?) **PREQUEL** to this story, and later on you'll see where I get **_**a**_** main conflict from, so, if you're interested, it's called **_"THE HEALING TOUCH"_**, and, just so you're warned, it's more slow moving than this one 'cause I'm new to this whole crossover thing, and there's a whole bunch more research I have to do. I also have to figure out how to get to the end, which I have all figured out and how it's going to affect the stories that come after the one you are currently about to keep reading. And I'm only on chapter three + the prologue. It's also a crossover with Tangled, so it might be just a **_**tad **_**bit different. So there's that.**

**A/N3: Thank you thank you thank you f or your constant reviews Rumbleroar's Army! Hope this chapter isn't really a disappointment to you! I aim to impress (or at least satisfy)!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Six

Foreseeing Great Darkness

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><p>"People say this professor is just a bit odd," Sirius warned me as we climbed up to the Divination classroom.<p>

"Weirder than all the others?" Somehow I didn't think any of the professors could be worse than Professor Damant.

Guessing my thoughts he said, "They say she's even weirder than Professor Damnit. She's supposed to be over a hundred years old."

"So she probably doesn't see much?" I asked, starting to think that if she was someone so old that she couldn't even move around then it wasn't a good idea for her to be in charge of a class full of maniacs from all of the Houses. One look at Sirius and I could tell he was thinking the same.

When we stepped inside we saw a tall graceful woman dancing around a classroom that had a whole bunch of weird stuff on shelves and twelve small round tables that each sat two people. When we saw the woman's face it was ageless and dreamy, and her long wavy blonde almost white hair complimented her jewel blue eyes. She didn't look old or crazy.

"She looks familiar," Sirius said to himself.

"Take a seat please," she said in a soft and sweet voice that almost sounded like she wasn't really there. Sirius and I chose a table closest to a window that overlooked the courtyard outside.

"My name," she said, her voice surprisingly carrying itself to everyone and captivating them. "is Luna Lovegood. I'm pleased to get more students. The third year is always wonderful." She had a far-away look in her eye. "Divination is something special and rare, and always difficult to comprehend. Well, the Seers are rare."

Kids looked at each other blankly, all thinking the same thing: _What is she talking about?_

"Today I don't have much to teach, so how about I predict some of your futures?" She closed her eyes and gracefully spun in circles around the room. Abruptly she stopped spinning and stood over a table with two Ravenclaws, one boy and one girl, who looked almost exactly alike.

"Mr. Brisdon." The Ravenclaw boy looked up at her doubtfully. Professor Lovegood opened her eyes and looked into his, almost like she was peering into his soul. "On your first Quidditch game against Slytherin, you're going to take a Bludger to you head. You'll get a nasty concussion and won't be permitted to play for three months." The boy rolled his eyes, not believing her. The professor didn't seem to notice.

"Miss Brisdon," Professor Lovegood addressed the girl. "Your best friend is going to betray you, leaving you for something far greater, but far more terrible." The Ravenclaw girl's eyes widened. Unlike her brother, she believed this.

"When?" she asked in a small voice.

"I cannot see when, just that it will hurt you and is the wrong choice. Eventually her choice will kill her." She started to spin again, coming to a stop with a Hufflepuff and another Ravenclaw. The two boys didn't look so thrilled that she had gravitated to them.

"For the longest time you two will be oblivious to the danger and turmoil going on around you. You will be ripped out of your happiness and be thrown into it without any warning or training. You will wish you would've paid attention and had had more help." Again, she started that weird spinning and this time stopped in front of me and Sirius. I saw a flash of recognition in her eyes.

"Sirius?" she said to herself in a low voice that no one but us could hear. "Harry missed you terribly. He never got over your death, we all never did…" She shook herself and looked deep into his eyes. She seemed to stop breathing and she became very still. All at once she took a step back and a breath of air. Her eyes darted to me. My turn.

I could have sworn there was a part of her that plunged into me, and I froze. I couldn't see or hear what was going on around me. I felt more alone than I had ever been, I couldn't even sense Luna anymore. It was so dark, yet this darkness seemed to want something. It wanted…

I was snapped back into reality. Luna Lovegood was staring at me and Sirius, shaking.

"There is much to see and be told," she whispered to us. "Stay after class and I'll tell you what I can." And with that she started her odd spinning again.

I looked over at Sirius, confused. He shrugged and said, "I guess we can see why everyone calls her Loony Lovegood."

"There is so much to say…so much you should be warned about," Loony Lovegood said. It was during the homework hour, and Sirius and I sat in front of Loony Lovegood in her now dark classroom. The only light came from the crystal ball in the center of the table. I kind of expected ghosts or monsters or demons or whatever to jump out at us. It was that eerie.

"Then tell us," I said. "It can't be that bad." Even though I couldn't see her face I knew her eyes were on me and she was frowning.

"But it is. I am just not permitted to tell you…and I do not know why. I want to…it just will not come out of my mouth. It has never been this way before." She sounded very confused, almost, well, loony.

"Okay, I see what you're doing here," Sirius said in an easy-going manner. "You're just trying to have some fun by scaring us. That's what you meant by 'the third year is always wonderful'. You probably chose us because we're from your old House. I hope you've had your fun, but we've got stuff to do. Things we need to take care of."

Surprising us both, Loony laughed. "You certainly haven't changed a bit, Sirius," she muttered. "Alright. You don't believe me, fine. Although if I were you Sirius, I wouldn't go finish that fight with Malfoy just yet. You've already gotten yourself and Nike in a difficult situation. Your time to finish it will come, don't you worry."

I felt him stiffen beside me. "How do you—"

"My abilities can reach a certain length into the past too. Oh, and by the time we head to the Great Hall, the school will be buzzing. The mess will begin. Or maybe it will begin after Christmas Break if what I think will happen will happen…" she trailed off, thinking.

"Maybe you happened to look outside and catch what had happened and are just taking a guess that rumors will spread," Sirius argued.

She sighed. "My old House was Ravenclaw. If it were pranks on my own House, why would I have not gotten two of them?"

"Simple. You had a grudge against someone in Gryffindor." His answer was automatic.

"All of my best friends were in Gryffindor. I hold no grudge against anyone in that brilliant House." She sounded kind of sad.

Sirius started to say something but I hit him with my shoulder, shutting him up.

"What can you tell us?" I asked. I didn't want me or Sirius to make her feel miserable.

"Listen carefully to what is around you. Keep your eyes wide open. Trust your friends, keep them close, don't lose them or it could be the end. Your enemies grow more powerful every day; be aware of them. Be ready for strange and old changes. The time nears when the past and future begin."

"Huh?" Sirius said.

"That is all I can give you, and I am sorry. It is all I can get out," Loony apologized.

"It's a riddle isn't it?" I asked.

She was quiet, thinking. "I guess it may be."

"You guess?" Sirius said, growing livid. "How can you guess? You're the one that said it!"

"Stop it Sirius," I snapped. "Thanks professor. Are you sure it will help?"

"I sure hope so. If I can reveal any more, you'll know."

"I hate riddles," Sirius grumbled.

Loony chuckled. "Just like Sirius," she muttered to herself.

"Come on, let's go," he told me. We got up from the table and walked to the ladder that would lead us out of her classroom.

"Good luck!" she called as we retreated. "Oh and Nike?"

"Yes?" I turned around to look at her.

"You have a flying turtle that is following you. I'd take care of that if I were you."

"She is definitely mad," Sirius said, looking over at me once we were out of her classroom. "There is no way I am going to believe there is a flying turtle following you.'

"She may be, but she's…I don't know. There's something about her that I think we can trust. I believe her. Not about the flying turtle of course, but about the other things."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh great. Another insane prophet has just entered Hogwarts. This place is turning into an asylum for clairvoyants. How lucky can we be?"

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><p><strong>AN: Ta-da! Loony Lovegood! Surprise surprise! Are you readers happy to see her? I mean, couldn't you see Luna becoming Hogwart's Divination professor? I could. Just so you know, she'll have a HUGE part to play in this story of mine… And to tell the truth, Luna just makes a story better just because of who she is, you know what I mean?**

**By the way…where has Peeves been through the rest of the day? Hmm…we'll find out soon! I'd say he's been busy using up all of his brain power.**

**Remember, however many reviews I get is how many chapters I update with.**

**Anyways, hope you're liking this!**

**Please Review!**

**Nike**


	8. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created.**

Chapter Seven

"_Peevesie's Song"_

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><p>Loony was right. By the time we walked into the Great Hall the school was buzzing. Some of it was good, most of it was bad, at least, that's what I gathered from the looks on everyone's faces.<p>

When we approached the Gryffindor table, the strangest sight ever to be seen was waiting there.

"What's he paying you to sit here Lily?" Sirius asked, smiling.

She glared at him. "It's your fault."

He turned to James. "Oh. You're welcome Prongs."

"I don't think it's a good thing Padfoot," James replied, not looking at Lily.

"Why not?" His smile fell and he looked over at me and grimaced, as if to say _'I always get blamed.'_

"We told you to stay away from them Nike!" Tonks said.

"What happened this time?" Sirius asked, looking from Remus to James.

"All you three are doing are doing is getting her into more trouble that she could do just fine without!"

"They _haven't_ got me in any trouble though! It's been all me!" I protested.

"Please don't lie to us," Lily said, lowering her voice when students looked over at us.

"But I'm not! James, Remus—"

"Yes we know those two haven't done anything yet. The thing is, they'll follow suit." Tonks interrupted me.

"So you're saying me alone is ruining her life," Sirius guessed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That little stunt you pulled on the Quidditch field was _not_ funny Sirius Black!" Lily snapped.

"Little _stunt__?_ Tell me Evans, did you hear _all_ of the story? What about the words that he said? I don't think you'd be hating me right now if you had. You would have found my actions reasonable!" He was losing his patience.

"I highly doubt—"

"Hey!" I yelled. "Listen, I started that fight with what's-his-face! Instead of me getting in trouble Sirius punched him and we left! End of story."

Lily's eyes filled with understanding. "Oh no," she muttered.

"Nike, you don't have to stand up for them," Tonks said soothingly.

"I'm not! I'm telling you the truth! Why can't you see it? I don't know what a friend is, but aren't they supposed to trust each other?"

"We do trust you, just not those three," Tonks said.

"A friends looks out for one another and sticks up for each other too, and that's what we're doing," Lily said, her features softening some. "Trust us when we say that you don't know them like we do."

"You're right." Everyone looked surprised and I felt a twinge of guilt at the look of hurt that flashed past the boys' faces. They were probably wondering why I was giving in so easily. "It's only my first day here, and I already know them better than you two." I stormed away from them and nearly collided with Weasley when I flung the doors open angrily.

"Good evening Nike," he said, stopping me in the doorway.

"There's nothing 'good' about this evening Weasley," I growled.

He frowned (probably thinking I either had serious anger issues or I was bipolar) and was about to say something when Professor Vera stood up and said,

"May I have your attention please?" The room fell silent and he opened his mouth to speak, and that's the moment that Peeves chose to float over to the podium.

"May _I _ have your attention please?" the ghost mocked the headmaster. Some students laughed and Sirius yelled,

"The floor is yours!"

"Peeves? What are you doing?" Professor Vera asked, annoyed.

Peeves ignored the headmaster. "Peevesie's wote somefing and would wike twoo pwubwiciwze wit." He tried to clear his throat, but it came out as a gargle, which caused more students to laugh. This ghost was a riot. "Wit wis swimply cwalled _'Peevesie's Song'_, witten by wyours twuly."

"Go away Peeves—" Professor Vera's voice was lost in Peeves' awful singing voice.

"_Oooohhhh…_

_I'm gonna sing this song_

_all day long…_

_until you cry,_

_or you dddiiieee!_

"_Hahaha!_

_No one can stop me,_

_if they try I'll sting 'em like a beeeeee!_

_And the one who'll kill them is Nikeeeee!_

"_You know who will be first?_

_Who's bubble needs to burst?_

_Professor Damnit of course!_

_As you know he's _such_ a horse!_

_But then when you say that, you're offending the horses, the poor dears,_

_Oh well, that doesn't put me nor the Marauders to shame…_

"_Hey! Wait! That last line didn't rhyme…_

_Whatever, it doesn't matter, I'm dead, so my brain is fried…_

"_That's the end of 'Peeeeevesiiiiiieeeeee's Sssoooooonnnnngg'!"_

All the students burst into applause and laughter and Peeves took a bow and ended up somersaulting off the stage.

Weasley glanced at me. "So…you'll kill them, right?" I was surprised to find him smiling.

"I know what you're thinking and I did _not_ write that song," I replied.

"Who taught you to rhyme Peeves?" James yelled. I grew angry again, knowing he was next to Lily and Tonks.

Peeves grinned. "Wi've fwound many new twalents twoday fanks to Witchy Nike!"

I felt it was time to go, even if I was going to miss the best part: the teachers freaking out.

"See you around Weasley," I muttered, and I left the Great Hall.

I was halfway up the first flight of stairs when I heard someone following me. Well, not _heard_, I more of sensed it. I turned around and came face to face with a scary-looking ghost that had dried blood stained on his night shirt.

"Whoa," I said. He must've died painfully.

The ghost just stared at me with no feeling or expression.

"So you're Peeves' latest toy." I looked around for the voice, but no one else was around, the hallways were empty. Just me and the ghost, who hadn't moved at all, not even to speak.

But because I'm crazy, I replied anyways.

"Toy? Really? He doesn't control me!"

The ghost's lips raised some, almost a smile (or was it a smirk?). "You are almost better than the Marauders." I wasn't sure, but I think that was a compliment.

"Who's the Marauders?"

The ghost was quiet—quieter—making me wait. "You know them," he said finally.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. It would most likely be a bad idea to lose your temper at a bloody ghost. But I was getting tired of these riddles. I needed answers.

I opened my eyes, semi-calm. "What do you…?" I trailed off, seeing that he had gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: K, well this chapter was really short…but I had to show that Lily and Tonks aren't happy at all with Nike and the Marauders' friendship, and that will create a little (some might say stupid and pointless) conflict. But oh well.**

**How did you like Peeves' song? He wrote it himself, by the way (and believe you me, it took about ten minutes to come up with an idea, and then only five minutes to get the song written down in the notebook).**

**Sorry again that the chapter was so short, but the next one will be longer. Here's a hint (but you've got to figure it out! First one who can tell what it is gets an invisible smiley face sticker!) Stuoyrt Hctiddiuq. (Yes I am merely trying to amuse myself.)**

**Let me know what you think! Please Review!**

**Nike**


	9. Chapter Eight

**A/N: Sorry this is so late you guys. AGAIN! SUPER busy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Eight

Quidditch Tryouts

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><p>I walked downstairs, not bothering to wait for Lily and Tonks. When I got to the foot of the stairs I saw James in the Common Room, hanging something up on a board.<p>

I walked over to him. "Mornin James."

He turned away and walked back up the stairs.

"Jeesh," I muttered. And I thought _I_ had issues. I looked at the board and read the sign. It said;

Gryffindor Quidditch Tryouts

_When: Today during free time_

_Where: Quidditch field (you're completely mental if you thought otherwise)_

_I'll be looking for two Beaters, three Chasers, and one Keeper._

_Good Luck!_

_Team Captain: James Potter: Seeker_

_Note: Yes, Sirius, you **HAVE TO TRY OUT****!**_

Quidditch tryouts…was that what he was upset about? Did he think I wasn't going to come? Aww well, whatever. Who understood guys anyways? But as of right now, I couldn't wait until free time.

* * *

><p>The day just got weirder and weirder, and I didn't like it. For some reason James, Remus, and Sirius were ignoring me, even openly saying they didn't want me around anymore. I don't know why, but that hurt. Especially when <em>Remus <em>was the one doing most of the hateful talking to me. I felt closest to him out of all of them…but now I felt like they all didn't want me. They avoided me when possible and just left me out in the cold.

Professor McGonagall seemed to notice the change when I was sitting far away from them and alone. She looked at me questioningly, but didn't say anything.

During flying lessons, they kept to themselves while Derek, Amata, and Jean explained the sport of Quidditch to me and discussed today's tryouts. Adda didn't seem too happy about that, but she was happy to keep me company too and give me some pointers.

Weasley noticed, too, but he had to leave early because of some emergency in the Charms classroom that had something to do with some kid hurting himself with some pretty dark stuff. So class was dismissed, much to our disappointment. I think everyone was actually enjoying the Shape-shifter unit.

I wandered around the courtyard alone since I had nothing else to do. When I passed by this creepy forest that was along the outline of the grounds, I was tempted to go in and check it out, but stopped when I heard voices.

"We can't take it anymore Lily!" James cried. _What?_ Lily and James were alone and talking and _not_ _yelling_ at each other?

"You're going to have to try James. You promised me," Lily said kindly. Spoken kindly. To James Potter. From Lily Evans. That was another first, I was sure.

"But I feel horrible! We all do! You should've seen the look on her face when Remus told her to go away and never come back."

"_Remus_ said that? I expected that from _you_. You should be used to being a jerk. What's the difference with her?"

"She's—"

"If you say 'just like us' I swear I'll slap you." I stifled a laugh despite everything. I could actually see Lily doing that.

"Fine! She's different."

"Tonks and I know this. She's special, and we feel like we have to protect her—"

"So do we," James agreed. "But we can't figure out why."

"Exactly! And trust me when I say you _are_ helping her by staying away. I overheard Professor Vera, Professor Damant, and the Minister of Magic talking, and they said that if she does something 'dangerous' that harms someone else, she's going to Azkaban. And I don't know if you three purposely find it, or if it finds you, but wherever you five are, trouble's right behind you. And she doesn't need that, especially since they won't be lenient. You can bet that if someone in this school gets hurt, all the blame's going to be on her if it has to do with magic and fighting."

There was a stunned silence. I wasn't sure who was more shocked, me or James.

"You've got to be kidding me!" James laughed humorlessly.

"I'm not."

"Then it was good that Sirius stood up for her."

Lily hesitated. "Yes…and no. You know how Malfoy is; it's just going to get worse for her."

"So it would be better if we're with her just in case we need to step in when the time comes. Soon we're going to have almost all classes with Malfoy, and she's going to be in for it then. Huh, we all will."

"Leave her alone James," Lily warned. "You can be nearby and still be able to watch over her if that's what you want. Just stay away from her unless absolutely necessary. If you care about her so much, then do this."

James sighed, aggravated. "Fine, we'll see if that's true and your plan works. But what about Quidditch?" James changed the subject. "Nike's the best Keeper in the whole school! Probably the best in the whole world! By you saying that we have to stay away, that means I can't have her on the team!"

"Oh my gods James. I wonder about you sometimes. You're so self-absorbed, but then you're not. What is with you?" I could picture Lily rolling her eyes. "_No_ James. You keep your end of our deal, and I'll keep mine."

I walked off, furious, not wanting to hear any more of it or hear James flirting with Lily. My mind was flying.

So.

Lily and Tonks were to blame for the guys' withdrawal. Okay, I could deal with that later. I focused on the bigger issue. If I screwed up, I was going to prison, and I'd probably be locked up for the rest of my life. And I was only thirteen and a-half; I had a lot of life left in me. With that looming over my head, I made my way to Divination.

* * *

><p>The Quidditch field was packed. It was almost like the whole Gryffindor House and then some who must've heard about it had shown up, although I knew that wasn't it. There were kids ranging anywhere from their second to their seventh year, all looking nervous and out-of-place. I saw Weasley talking to two kids and waved enthusiastically at him. He grinned and waved back.<p>

"Are you sure you want to try out?" Lily asked, looking around. I hadn't let on that I knew what they were doing, but instead I had started speaking to them again. When I had told them I was trying out for the team, they protested but eventually gave in and decided they would come and watch.

"Hey Miss Keeper!" Derek yelled. He, Amata, and Jean had agreed that was my "official nickname". I didn't mind. They didn't use it much anyways, it was normally just Nike.

"Hi Derek," I replied, walking over to him.

"Lily, Tonks." He nodded politely at them, giving them a warm smile. "Didn't expect to see you two here willingly."

Lily smiled back. "She said she was going so we said we'd cheer her on."

"I don't think she'll need that. She's amazing! No luck needed!"

"You're that good huh?" Tonks asked. She whispered to me, "Poor guy. He's starstruck." I rolled my eyes and she chuckled.

"Nike! Derek! You've _got_ to see this!" Jean yelled from behind these wooden bleachers that were really high up off the ground.

"What is it?" I asked. Amata pointed and I saw Sirius James, Remus, and a short pudgy kid I didn't recognize. Sirius and James seemed to be arguing.

"Not _this_ again," Derek moaned.

"Sure is," Amata giggled.

Sirius held up the flyer that had been posted in the Common Room. "But _Jaaames_, why do _I_ _have_ _to_ try out? _You_ don't have to!" Sirius whined like a little kid.

James shook his head, exasperated. "That's because _I'm_ team captain Padfoot! We go through this _every year_. Why can't you be more like Moony? You don't see _him_ complaining."

Remus grinned. "It's impossible for Padfoot to be like me Prongs."

"If _you_ don't have to try out, then _I_ don't have to try out," Sirius persisted.

"If you don't try out you can't and won't be on the team. At least, last time I read the Quidditch manual that's what it said," the new kid said.

"No one asked you Wormtail!" Sirius snapped.

"But he's got a point," James said, looking at Wormtail (?) thankfully. "You either try out or you don't make the team. And that's final."

Sirius glared at them. "Tryouts are stupid," he grumbled, and then he stalked away.

We walked back onto the field.

"That happens _every_ year?" I asked, amused.

"Yeah, Sirius is a big cry-baby," Derek said.

"He is not!" Amata exclaimed.

"He's just funny," Jean agreed.

"Whatever," Derek replied. "See you three later tonight." He walked off and joined a group of guys I'd never seen before.

"He's just jealous of him," Amata told me and Jean. "All guys are."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, this is where we part. We'll be up in the stands, okay?"

"Okay."

Lily and Tonks left, and when they were at the top and sitting Tonks smiled encouragingly and gave me a thumbs-up. I grinned at them, repeating her gesture. Then someone just behind them caught my attention.

An extremely good-looking guy with short, curly dark brown hair and olive skin was staring at me with intense hazel eyes. His expression was emotionless, yet guarded at the same time. I'd never seen him before, so I knew he wasn't in Gryffindor. But…I don't know, something about him called to me, which made me extremely confused.

Someone shoved me, not hard enough to make me move but hard enough that my gaze was torn away from examining the boy. I turned and saw the Wormtail boy that had saved James in his argument.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm quite clumsy," he rambled.

"No, you're fine," I said.

"Aren't you nice," he muttered. "Very nice." Okay, he was starting to creep me out the way his eyes darted back and forth and he seemed to be sniffing the air timidly. What was he? A rat? That's what it seemed like.

"Peter!" Tonks yelled. The Wormtail/ (he must've been friends with the three guys since he had a ridiculous nickname too) Peter kid looked up. Lily and Tonks beckoned him, so he left and went to sit next to them. Somehow I found it odd that James, Remus, and Sirius would be really good friends with this awkward kid.

"Alright! Everyone shut-up and listen!" James yelled, standing in the center of the field with a clipboard in his hands, which was a weird sight considering this was _James_. The field went quiet. "If you aren't going to try out, either exit the field or go to the stands at this moment." More than half the people climbed the bleachers and either sat or stood. Nobody left the field. When they were settled, James continued.

"When I call your name and the position you wish to have, step up next to me. We'll be put in groups, and it'll be kinda like a scrimmage. Does everyone understand?" There were choruses of "Yes" and I heard Sirius yell sarcastically,

"Yes sir Prongsie!" Now I saw were Peeves got it from.

James glared at him. "We'll play without a Seeker, obviously, and the first team to get one hundred fifty points wins."

"What's the point of this scrimmage?" someone yelled.

"It will help me decide, so just play your best." James looked at the clipboard. "Remus Lupin: Beater; Sirius Black: Beater; Nike: Keeper; Jean Redgrave: Chaser; Amata Capaldi: Chaser; and Derek Farr: Chaser. Team one, have a seat over there, you'll play last." Our team went over and sat on the ground in front of the stands. Remus sat at my left, and next to him sat Sirius. Even though they were sitting next to me, they were still ignoring me, as I had expected.

"Oh yeah! We've got this game in the bag!" Jean yelled.

"Savin the best for last!" Amata agreed.

"Go Remus! Go Sirius!" Peter yelled. "You've got this game in Merlin's purse!" Some people looked at Peter oddly while others laughed at his stupidity. Remus just shook his head and Sirius yelled,

"You got that right Peter!" he turned to Remus. "Merlin had a purse? How come I didn't know this?"

"No, you idiot, Merlin did not have a purse." Remus rolled his eyes.

"So. You saw something you like in Napier?" Jean asked me, sitting on my right side while Amata sat in front of me.

"Who?" I asked, looking away from Remus.

"Gary Napier. Fifth year Ravenclaw. Best Chaser in the school, even better than me and Jean put together, and that's saying something. He's also totally gorgeous, definitely equal with Sirius Black, James Potter, and him," she nodded her head at Remus, lowering her voice so they wouldn't hear her "insulting" them. "And he's maybe a little bit above them all," Amata explained.

"I'm still confused," I said, unsure _just _what they were trying to talk about here.

"Okay. So I'm just gonna come straight out and ask this," Jean said. She looked over her shoulder, and Amata and I followed suit. "That guy, right behind Lily, is Gary Napier." Oh. _That_ guy. As if he felt our gaze, he looked down at us each in turn, then his eyes went back to James. Amata and Jean giggled.

"Uh-huh," Amata said triumphantly.

"That's what we thought," Jean said. "You _were _checking him out. You see something you like."

"What! Pssh! _No_…" I started to protest.

"Whatever," Amata said. "We won't argue 'bout this right now."

"Nervous?" Jean asked me, changing the subject.

I looked at her, confused. "No, why?"

"Good. Another fact that you're a natural. You'll make the team, and if you don't then James is going to have some serious explaining to do and he'll leave that discussion torn up." We laughed as the other teams formed and either sat or grabbed brooms.

"They rigged it so they'd be on the same team," a sixth year boy muttered as his team sat down.

"This can't be rigged. James called the names in order that you signed up," Remus said. The boy ignored us and we sat back and watched the tryouts.

To be honest, none of them had a chance compared to the people I had on my team. By the time we were up, I had counted only two people who had some talent, and by some, I don't mean a lot. I mean very little. Like no-talent-but-just-pure-luck type talent. Make sense? No, didn't think so. These tryouts were a joke.

"Take your positions," James yelled with no enthusiasm. I could tell he was ready for this to be over.

"Good luck," Derek told me.

"I thought I didn't need luck," I teased.

He smiled. "Just to be on the safe side."

I flew up to the goals on my side of the field and watched as my tryout began.

Right off our team scored. I could tell we were going to win; the team we were against wasn't any better than any of the other teams had been.

I heard something coming towards me, so I quickly dove and missed being hit by a Bludger (the wicked black balls).

"Oops. Sorry about that," Sirius said, flying over to me. "I mistook you for someone else. All of us Gryffindors look alike."

"Well look at you," I said dryly. "Aren't you brave."

His smile melted off his face. "What's up?"

I looked at the teams fighting. The other team was nowhere near scoring on us. In fact, the only reason there was a "fight" was because our team was barely even playing.

"I don't know. How about you tell me?"

"What are you—oh. That. Listen—"

"I already know about the promise and I already know 'why', just like I know James can't have me on the team. But I still don't _understand_ the 'why' part. Is there really a threat of me going to Azkaban?"

His face darkened. "You're going to Azkaban?" His voice was angry and distraught.

"Not now, but there's a chance. The first time I 'hurt' someone, I'm gone." Oops. Obviously James hadn't told them about this yet.

"Where'd you hear all of this?"

I hesitated. "I overheard James and Lily talking earlier."

"You can't go there. That place is _horrible_. It's maddening." The way he said that made me think that he had memories from there.

"How do you know?"

"I just do. I don't know how, but I do. It's like a memory that I have, but I know it can't be a memory." I left it at that as he watched our team score again. That's fifty points. "I'm sorry about today. All of us are. James is trying to change Lily's mind, and if it makes you feel any better, I don't understand this whole situation either. Neither does Remus. So just be patient. And you _will_ be on this team."

"How?"

"I've got my ways."

"Like putting my name on the sign-up sheet?" I asked, smiling. I hadn't known we'd needed to sign up. "Or throwing a temper tantrum when you're told you have to do something you don't want to?"

"Yeah, uh, like that. So…you saw that."

"Uh-huh. I guess it's a yearly thing for the team. S– Look out!" Two Bludgers were just a couple feet away.

"Those two might have some talent. A miracle," Sirius said to himself, moving in front of me. "Watch out. Do your job and I'll do mine." I looked up and saw the other team's Chaser approaching while my team just hovered and watched. I shrugged and moved away from Sirius and got ready.

I heard Sirius' club connect with one Bludger and I turned just in time to see the other connect with his stomach, making him fly off his broom. It must've not been hit too awfully hard because from what I've heard, those things will break bones or even kill. They were no joke. Sirius grabbed a hold of his broom, and when he tried to climb back up, the Bludger would dive for his head, which he would narrowly avoid by lowering himself. After a few more tries, he gave up. I turned and grabbed the Quaffle (the red ball) that was thrown at the goal and threw it to Jean, who looked impressed all over again. I hadn't even been paying attention to the other team or the goal. I just knew.

"A little help?" Sirius asked. "I'm strong, but I can't hold up for long."

"Umm…no thanks, I'd rather not." I flew down farther so I was above him but out of reach of the swarming Bludger. "I don't want to ruin your moment, superstar. And besides, you're doing just fine."

"Sadly I don't agree."

"Why don't you show off those arm muscles?"

"Mm, no thanks."

"Hey Padfoot! Whatcha doin?" James yelled.

"Oh I'm enjoying the sights from up here and asking Nike how her day's been. And you just interrupted a _lovely _discussion," Sirius said sarcastically. James grinned and stood there, watching his helpless little friend. "Moony!" Sirius hollered. I looked over and saw Remus was chasing the other Bludger.

"I already said I was sorry," Sirius said, this time talking to me.

"You did?" He glared at me. "What do you want me to do?" I huffed, giving in.

"Here." He tossed me his club. "Just hit it and it'll find a new target."

I caught it easily and, taking my time, I asked, "So I just hit it? That's all?"

"Yes Nike. Maybe you're denser than we thought." I smacked the Bludger and it flew and knocked a kid off his broom.

"Sorry!" I yelled. "That was definitely unintentional!" The kid froze two feet from the ground and was set down carefully. I looked over at Lily, who was…smiling? I looked for James and saw throw his clipboard and stalk off the field, livid. I smiled at him. Poor James.

"Tha—"

"Hey, you're forgiven. Keep talking and you'll ruin it," I mocked him.

"Fine. But may I say you'd make a damn good Beater too." I tossed Sirius his club back after he remounted his broom.

"Yes you may. Thank you."

"For what?" He looked confused.

"I'm not sure. For everything I guess." I don't know why I even said it.

"You're welcome. I guess." He paused and we watched as our team scored the ninetieth goal. "Thank you."

"For obvious reasons?" I asked.

"Yeah. For obvious reasons."

"You're welcome then. Sirius?" I asked after a moment.

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you—"

"Okay! That concludes Gryffindor's tryouts! Thank you for coming and the results should be posted by tonight after dinner!" Tonks yelled when our Chasers finally got bored and scored the rest of the goals real quick.

"Well, our time's up," Sirius said. "We'll talk again when we can."

* * *

><p>The Common Room was even more crowded then the Quidditch field had been. The room was full and so were the stairs (the kids on the stairs were first years staying out of the way, I think). James had yet to come with the results.<p>

I thought this whole thing was a joke too; I already knew that Sirius, Remus, Amata, Derek, and Jean had made the team, and that I hadn't.

"You did great," Tonks said for the thousandth time. I had no idea where Lily had gone; I hadn't seen her since before tryouts.

"Nym–Tonks, can I talk to you for a second?" Remus asked. He didn't look too good. He looked kind of sick. Come to think of it, he'd looked pretty bad all day today.

To my surprise, Tonks didn't freak out on him. Maybe the rival groups were becoming united for some odd reason.

"Sure," she said. They disappeared into the sea of people.

"Make room people!" Sirius yelled. An aisle was formed and there was James and Lily, followed by Sirius and then Peter. Sirius spotted me and pulled me aside. "You won't believe—"

"Trust me; I already think I'm dreaming. First Tonks willingly follows Remus, you're breaking your promise by openly talking to me, and now Lily and James are publicly getting along!" At the mention of Remus he looked worried.

"Ah, I don't care about that promise. I didn't make it. Besides, you've got to be in on this. Lily and Prongs have been arguing," he continued.

"I can find that believable," I replied, looking at him closely. Was something wrong with Remus?

"But do you know what about?"

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me."

"Ha, you're so funny. Come on," he said, grabbing my hand. He led us right behind James, who was hanging up the results. "Hopefully Prongs made the right choice." He peered at the sheet, and then grinned. Sirius moved out of my way. "Take a look Witchy Nike," he said.

I stepped forward and read the names.

Gryffindor Quidditch Team

Beaters: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin

Chasers: Jean Redgrave, Amata Capaldi, and Derek Farr

Seeker: James Potter

Keeper: Nike

Tryouts were great, and I thank all of you who attended. I think Gryffindor will have a great team this year, and I can't wait to prove it to you.

**GRYFFINDOR, FIGHT! FIGHT!**

I was speechless for the first time in my life. I looked at James, who was glowing, and Lily, who didn't look so sure of what she'd done, and wondered why Lily had given in. I was about to ask but others had swarmed forward, so I lost sight of them.

"Told you you'd make it!" Sirius said triumphantly.

"What'd you do?" I asked. "How'd you do it?"

"You know how I kind of took a Bludger and fell off my broom and couldn't get back up?"

"Yeah. So?" I wasn't understanding.

"Well let's just say that that happened on purpose, trying to get you distracted. It worked, yet you still didn't let the other team get past you. Even Quidditch-haters like Lily Evans has got to see pure talent there. When James stormed off the field so he wouldn't lose it, Lily followed and they talked about it again. And here you are: a member of the team." He looked proud of himself.

"Let me get this straight. You purposely let a Bludger knock you off you're broom, you…"

"Put a spell on the Bludgers to attack me and made one try to knock me out if I tried to move… Truthfully, those kids who tried out for Beaters had no talent, it was all me…" he added.

"Right. You did that thinking what had happened would happen?"

"You're making it sound so complicated! But…yes."

"Did you ever think that your plan could've gone wrong?"

"Nope," he said, looking outside. He saw something and that worried look returned.

"Why not?"

"Because my plan revolved around you, and I knew that you wouldn't mess up." He said it so simply, like he had that much faith in me. Wow.

"Okay. Well, thank you Sirius."

"For obvious reasons?" he joked.

"Yeah, for obvious reasons."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, I know James is **_**still **_**a Seeker, but you know what, I've got a plan. And that plan shall surface in book two. So please put up with this, even if it wasn't true. This is a new beginning, and James hasn't quite figured out what's his calling. But he will in the next installment, and yes, it will be Chaser.**

**Anyways, what do you think of this chapter? Yes, Lily and Tonks wanting the Marauders to stay away from Nike was/is stupid, but it makes sense when you think about it like they did. **

**And Sirius…man he can be…what's the right word? Umm…overconfident, can't he? **

**And let me just say this once to myself, okay? I'm going to be torn between Napier and Black! Okay, thanks. That helped me.**

**So, was that chapter long enough for you? Let me know! **

**Next chapter is **_**full **_**of surprises!**

**And to all my wonderful readers that are there but not reviewing and to the ones who are…**

**R&R please!**

**Nike**


	10. Chapter Nine

**A/N: As was promised, here's the other.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Nine

Remus' Big Secret

* * *

><p>Lily and Tonks were asleep by the time I was able to escape my congratulating peers, so I didn't get a chance to question or thank them. So I laid down and tried to follow suit, but sleep would not come. Thirty minutes later I was still awake and very bored. I got up and decided to go for a walk outside.<p>

Walking as quietly as I could without a light, I made my way down the stairs and out of the common room.

"What do you think you're doing?" the Fat Lady asked, yawing.

"I couldn't sleep," I said.

"Students aren't supposed to be out after hours, did you know that?" she asked drowsily.

"No ma'am I didn't. I'll be right back though."

She yawned again, her eyes shutting. "If I'm asleep you won't be able to get back inside until morning. If you still want to go, then go." She started to snore, and her portrait shut itself. That answered that.

"Fire," I whispered, and a tiny ball of flame appeared in my hands. I placed one hand over it that way it wouldn't wake the other pictures or cast to much light, but just enough so I could see to walk down the now still staircases.

Outside it was a beautiful, crisp night. The sky was cloudless and the full moon was big and bright, hanging high up in the sky. Everything looked so mystical bathed in the moonlight. It reminded me of home.

Since I had time on my hands, I decided I might as well explore the woods that outlined the school grounds. It was extremely quiet as I made my way towards the forest, which was strange. You'd think that you'd hear the nighttime creatures moving around. But not tonight. Something was different.

Then out of nowhere, I did hear a sound: a bloodcurdling howl, which was answered by a dog's howl. Stranger still, I understood them.

The first one said,

"You won't ever match the speed of a mighty werewolf, you flea-bitten house-dog!"

"In your dreams Moony!" the dog answered. _Moony?_ Wasn't the Remus' weird nickname?

"Aww don't be jealous Padfoot!" And that was Sirius' nickname. What was going on here?

All of a sudden I heard footsteps. I turned around slowly and came face to face with a nine foot tall beast with silvery, scaly looking skin. It seemed to be something like a mix between a human and a wolf. Its unnaturally bright green eyes slitted when it saw me and it bared its sharp white fanged teeth and snarled. Part of me was shocked, but another part recognized him.

I took a step forward so I was right in front of him, a move only an idiot would make, I thought a few seconds later.

"Remus?" I asked.

I thought I saw a flash of recognition, but it was quickly replaced with hunger. He stood up on his hind legs, towering over me, and threw back his head and howled hungrily and triumphantly.

I stepped back and tripped over a tree root and landed on my back, looking up at him. He put a paw on either side of me, blocking any escape I had planned. _This is not what I expected,_ I thought. _I hadn't planned on dying by the teeth of my new friend. _He lowered his head; his jaws ready to snap and…froze. Remus just stared at me, and then whimpered. He lept away and took off, tearing through the woods. I stood up, confused. What had stopped him?

"Remus!" I yelled. Not thinking about it, I took off after him, heedless of the danger I was throwing myself into.

"Nike! No!" Sirius yelled from behind me.

"Stop!" Was that James' voice? But I ignored them both, picking up my speed. Soon the trees and everything else was a blur. Never in my life had I run this fast. I spotted him; he was only a few feet ahead of me.

"Remus!" I yelled again. That just made him, if possible, run faster.

Then we were out of the forest, heading for an odd looking tree. I heard a groaning sound, and realized the branches were starting to _move_. I looked over at Remus just as he disappeared into the ground.

I heard the strange sound again, and turned, just in time to see a ten foot thick branch flying towards me. It smacked me and flung me against the trunk of the tree, eight feet off the ground. I slid down the tree and fell backwards headfirst down a hole I hadn't seen before. My head hit what I think was a rock and the world started spinning.

"Bad tree! Don't try to hit me!" squeaked a voice that sounded suspiciously like Peter's.

Ignoring the protests from my aching body, I walked quickly down an earthen passageway, which soon turned into rotting old wooden stairs. When I got to the top landing, I stopped to look and listen. I heard nothing and all I saw was that there was a railing that went around the whole room and narrow hallways that gave you access to several ancient doors. I looked over the railing and saw that there were many different levels to this old building. If you fell down that, you were as good as dead.

The floorboards creaked and I felt hot breath on the back of my neck. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Remus," I whispered. "Are you alright?"

A snarl was my answer.

I looked him in the eye, trying to stay calm. "Okay, maybe you're not! But you're not a cold-blooded killer."

He cocked his head to the left, like he was listening. I had to keep talking.

"I've only known you two days, but it seems like forever. It seems we've been friends for years. I know that if you kill someone, you won't be able to live with yourself." I looked over his shoulder when I heard a squeak, and whatever sense I had talked into him was lost.

He tensed, and pounced. Before he came down on top of me he was knocked into the wall. A huge black dog stood protectively in front of me, growling menacingly.

"Moony, leave her alone," a stag that stood in the door with a rat on its shoulder said in James' voice.

Remus got back up, hatred in his eyes. He lunged for the black dog and tackled him, biting. The dog kicked Remus off and growled,

"Stay away from her!'"

"Sirius?" I asked. The black dog turned to look at me with familiar blackish-grey eyes. And that was when Remus pounced. They bit, clawed, scratched, and barked at each other, getting dangerously close to the edge.

"Remus!" I screamed, and lunged forward, jumping on his back, my arms around his neck. He stood up, forgetting about Sirius, and staggered backwards by the force of my arms around his neck.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sirius growled at me.

"Saving your sorry ass," I grunted, dodging a blow from Remus' huge paw.

"Don't!" Sirius huffed. "I've got this under control."

"Right, 'cause—"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something flying towards my head, and seconds later I was in the air, flying towards the edge of the railing.

"NO!" James yelled, and he grabbed my hand just as I was about to fall past the railing, suddenly human again. "Hold on tight Nik. Don't let go." He was panicking.

I heard more sounds of dogs fighting, so I assumed Sirius was watching James' back.

James grabbed my arm with his other hand and started to slowly lift me up. I went to grab the railing but froze when James said,

"No. It'll break and take you down with it. Just hold still." He grabbed both of my arms and pulled me onto the landing through a hole in the railing.

I went to tell him thanks, but I quickly closed my eyes. _Oh gods!_ I told myself. _He's naked! _Not wasting any time, James returned to stag form and ran forward, head lowered, and pinned a struggling Remus to the wall before they could fall off the edge.

"Get Nike out of here!" James grunted.

Sirius growled one last time at Remus, then limped back over to me. He bit my sleeve and then led us away from James who was struggling to keep control of Remus.

Once we were down the stairs Sirius let go of my sleeve and pressed his nose against a branch. He looked at me, and then at the hole.

"Can you not talk or something? Or are you just giving me the silent-treatment _Padfoot__?"_

"Climb up the hole Nike," he snapped. I detected confusion in his voice. I did as he said and was relieved to find the tree wasn't in attack-mode. I leaned against the tree, exhaustion setting in. Sirius came up out of the hole, human (and thank Merlin _clothed_)again. For a moment we just stood there looking at each other, now that there was no danger.

I noticed he had bite and scratch marks in several places and was bleeding pretty badly. There was pain in his eyes, yet he still looked alert and ready to fight.

"Are you okay?" I asked finally.

To my surprise, he laughed. But it made him sound completely mad.

"After all you've seen and just been through, you're asking me if _I'm_ okay? Do you not realize you came close to dying _twice, _no, _four fucking _times tonight?" He shook his head, exasperated. "What is _with_ you? Why the hell did you jump on his back in the first place? Why are you _you_?"

"Well I'm _sorry_, but you look pretty beat up," I growled, crossing my arms over my chest, ignoring everything that he said.

"Have you seen yourself?" he retorted.

"I'm just trying to be considerate!"

He sighed. "This is _not_ how I expected you to react."

"You expected me to run away screaming my head off?"

"Somewhere along those lines. But again, clearly I underestimated you and your…uh…_abilities_."

"Come here before you bleed to death." I was confused at the way he said 'abilities'.

He sat down next to me. "So you're a doctor too?"

"No, but I've healed my own injuries before and believe you me I've had way worse than this." I placed a hand on his shoulder and closed my eyes, thinking about his wounds closing and the pain going away. I felt warmth flow from me into him, and when I opened my eyes he was as good as new.

He studied me with an unreadable expression. "Thank you."

"No problem."

"Your turn." I started to protest but he cut me off. "You obviously feel nothing, but you're scratched up pretty bad." Sirius took out his wand and pointed it at me, muttering a few words I couldn't catch. He put his wand away, satisfied, and leaned back against the tree.

"Are we safe here?" I asked after a moment.

"Yeah. James won't let him out of there until the moon sets."

"How long has he been like that?" I asked hesitantly.

"He was turned when he was five, if that's what you mean."

"Poor Remus. It must be horrible for him. Is that why you and James and Peter became…well, whatever you are?"

"Animagi? Uh-huh, but no one knows we are. We kind of became Animagi illegally. Anyways, it's easier for him to cope that way. It makes him forget that he's a 'monster'. When he's made the transformation, he keeps his human mind and not the beastly mind. James and I picked bigger animals that way we could restrain him if something like tonight would happen. Peter chose a rat so he could slip past the Whomping Willow–this tree–without getting hit so he could hit the switch that stops the branches from moving, allowing us to get through."

"That tree's vicious."

"It is," he agreed.

"I finally understand your nicknames."

Sirius smiled. "They're kind of an inside joke. But they carry a lot of truth with them."

"Why'd Remus run off the first time instead of killing me? No one was there to stop him."

He was about to say something, but hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe some part of him remembered you." I didn't think it was a whole lie, but he was leaving something out. But I was too tired to press him for details.

"You guys have managed to keep this a secret for quite awhile, haven't you? Does anyone else know?"

"No one besides for us five. It'll stay that way, right?"

I glared at him. "Do you really think that I'd betray you guys like that?"

"Nope, but you keep surprising me tonight."

"Wh—"

"You better get some sleep. We'll have to sneak back inside in a few hours."

"But I'm not—"

"Don't lie to me," he said. "I can tell."

"Fine." I leaned back against the tree and closed my eyes. I was gonna have a stiff neck later.

I felt a hand on my arm and I moved. My head was resting against something softer. I opened my eyes and found that I was leaning against Sirius' chest.

"Probably more comfortable then the tree," he muttered, already half asleep.

"Thanks," I said, probably for the hundredth time that day.

"What are friends for?" he replied. I closed my eyes again, and sleep came immediately.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: See….Sirius can be sweet when he wants to! Nike was probably weirded out by that…but she'll get used to him. And Remus' furry little problem…I will love writing on the full moon nights. Sadly I won't put many of them in the books, but there will be a few. **

**But I wonder what made Remus stop from killing her the first time…don't you? Or how she ran faster than ever before. We'll find out later, won't we?**

**Next chapter Nike is introduced to how they get around.**

**Hope you liked it! Please review!**

**Nike**


	11. Chapter Ten

**A/N: Again, so sorry this is late! Strange the people you meet, for I met a guy who looked like he could easily be part of the Weasley family. Strange. Now if only I could see somebody that'd fit in the Black family…just kidding. Or am I? :)**

**Oh, and I'm so very happy! You know why? ON JULY 15 I OFFICIALLY FINISHED WRITING THE FIRST BOOK IN THIS SERIES! Yay! (And I'm extra excited 'bout that 'cause I finished this first book when the very last HP movie came out in theaters, which I sadly haven't been able to see yet. I kid you not, when I see the bitch Bellatrix die, I will jump up and scream with joy. So if you hear someone who sounds like they're on crack at that particular seen…yup, that's me.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Ten

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs' Secret to Mischief

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><p>"Well someone's got to wake them up or they're gonna get in trouble," said a voice from far away. I think it was James.<p>

"I'm not doing it. I've already done enough to them," Remus said.

"It won't be me!" Peter piped up. "The girl scares me even more then Padfoot!"

"Fine you scaredy-cats," James said in revulsion.

"I hate cats!" Peter exclaimed in a frightened voice.

I opened my eyes and saw James, Remus, and Peter standing over me. It was starting to get light outside.

"Morning," I said, sitting up.

Sirius shifted and muttered, "It can't be eight o' clock yet."

James rolled his eyes. "Get up Padfoot. We've got to get back in school before someone notices we're missing."

Sirius yawned and opened his eyes. "You didn't lose it this time did you?"

"It was an accident last time!" Peter said hurriedly.

James helped me to my feet. "You alright?"

"Yeah." I turned to Remus, who looked away, ashamed. "How about you?"

"Me? You're seriously asking me if _I'm_ okay?" He looked a little bit better this morning, except for the fact that he seemed about ready to punch someone and he had several closed wounds and bruises. Without letting him know, I healed him with my mind. He looked down, and then looked at me thankfully, which I acknowledged with a smile.

"She asked me the same thing last night," Sirius said. "I don't think she realizes exactly what happened, or what could have."

"Yes I do! And none of it was his fault!"

"I never said it was," he replied.

"Nike I'm _so_ sorry. For awhile I knew you and then It returned," Remus said, looking sick of himself. "If you want to walk away, go ahead. I can understand if you hate me."

I laughed, earning a confused look from him, James, and Peter. Sirius however, seemed used to my sense of humor, or used to mad-sounding laughter.

"You're gonna have to do better than that if you want to get rid of me. As of right now, you four are stuck with me." When he didn't say anything, I tried again. "Look Remus, you never really know or appreciate your friends until they try to eat you, right?"

He smiled. "I'm not sure who's worse. You, James, or Sirius."

"We better get back," Peter said, looking at the sky timidly. I could just see the sun rising.

James took something out of his pocket. It looked like a folded up map.

"This," he said, handing it to me carefully. "is how we get around the school and cause trouble so easily."

I took it and just stared at it. Nope, it wasn't a map. "It's a blank sheet of parchment," I said. "That's original. Never heard of that one before. I'll have to try it out sometime."

Remus made a sound in the back of his throat, but I didn't understand what it meant. He took out his wand. "You mustn't tell anyone about this."

I was about to give him the same lecture I had given Sirius, but Sirius beat me to it, scowling at his friend.

"What kind of girl do you think she is? Do you _honestly_ believe she would betray her friends?" he mocked me.

I smacked him. "That's my line, not yours. And I do _not_ sound like that."

"Anyways, you just tap the map like so with your wand," Remus said, ignoring Sirius. "and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'" Right before my eyes words appeared on the parchment. It read;

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers

are proud to present

THE MARAUDER'S MAP

"Whoa!" I gasped, opening the map. I saw all of the rooms of Hogwarts and that there were people moving around. I saw Lily and Tonks were in the common room, Professor Vera was in his office with Professor Damant, and Sirius, James, Remus, Peter, and I were standing on the school grounds next to a tree labeled Whomping Willow.

"You _made_ this?" I asked, astonished.

"Pretty cool, huh?" James said.

"_How_?"

"Magic," Peter answered. All of us looked at him strangely, trying not to laugh at his stupidity. "What? He did!" he said, shrinking back, pointing at Remus.

"We just finished it during the summer," Sirius said proudly.

"Remus did all of the complicated spells and charms while Sirius and I found all these secret passageways," James said.

"And you two also sketched the map," Remus added.

We walked towards the school, and then veered to the left, walking to a spot that was obscured by a column of stone wall. James tapped it with his wand and it slid backwards, allowing us to step inside. This was awesome.

"When did you start on it?" I asked, turning my attention back to the map so I could observe it. It was brilliant.

"Let's see…we started working on it our first year here when we became the Marauders," James answered.

"Lumos," Remus muttered, and immediately the passage was filled with light coming from his wand.

I gave James back the map. "So did you get Lily to break off your promise?"

James froze. "What do you mean?"

"Obviously you all are breaking it right now, and I thought since she agreed to let you put me on the team you were getting somewhere."

"How do you know about this? Sirius! You weren't supposed to mention it to her! I told you I would fix it!"

"He didn't! I, uh, kinda overheard you and Lily talking yesterday."

James ran his fingers through his hair tiredly, making it, if possible, even messier. "We have no idea what's going on. She's very protective of you."

"As is Nymphadora," Remus added. "Last night I talked to her about Nike going to Azkaban and she freaked out. She used a lot of restraint to not go drag Lily away to demand answers. That girl is feisty. She's something else."

"Remus!" James snapped.

"No, it's fine. I already knew about the chance of me going to Azkaban. I overheard you and Lily talking," I said, already knowing what James' question would be.

"I think it'd be best and easier for you to continue on here with a normal life. I think you'd be safer that way," James continued. "I've almost got Lily's agreement. But something big is going on and we don't know what it is. But neither me nor Lily likes it, so you know it has to be bad if we're getting along and agreeing." We came to the end of the passage, and the end looked like a canvas.

Remus muttered, "Knox," and his wand-light disappeared. He pushed against the canvas and we stepped out into the hallway that the Fat Lady's portrait was in. I turned around and saw a wizard leaning against a table, fast asleep. Peter closed the door quietly.

"So just behave and stay out of as much trouble as you can." Now _that_ sounded strange coming out of James' mouth. He tapped the map with his wand and said, "Mischief managed!" Thinking better of it, he added, "At least for now."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ahh…the Marauders Map. I wish I had something like that *daydreaming*. **

**And yes, if you haven't figured it out yet, Peter is just a bit weird…but that makes him a fun character to write.**

**Again, I'm sorry that this is the second short chapter in this story…I'll try to quit doing that, but I had some things I wanted to put in here and this was the only way.**

**I don't have much more to say about this chapter…so…on with my begging (which I really hate doing, and if you know me, it sounds weird…)…**

**Please Review! And remember: however many reviews I get is how many chapters you get on the next update! **

**Next chapter will have Howlers!**

**Nike**


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Eleven

A Howler Causes Me to Get Detention

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><p>Soon a week had gone by with really no excitement. Even Weasley's lessons on shape-shifters grew boring when it seemed like I already knew it all. I wasn't too awfully bored though because Remus and Sirius forgot to "ignore" me. Potions, strangely, was one of the best classes, mainly because we joked around and talked our way out of trouble. Today I "accidently" blew a potion up in Professor Damant's face when I had the whole class's attention since he had (snidely) asked for me to show them how to do it, thinking I would fail miserably. I don't know how I evaded detention there, but I think it was because he couldn't prove I'd done it on purpose, which I had. I mean, how else could you mess up a simple healing potion? I got extremely high marks on the real thing when I turned it in at the end of class.<p>

It was lunch time, and all of us were in a pretty good mood. According to James, today was the day that he predicted Lily would cancel his promise, whatever it was. Neither he nor Lily had told me exactly what their deal had been. Not like it would make any difference, because no matter what his excuse, he'd already broken the promise over a thousand times, and we all knew it, including Lily, who, along with Tonks, seemed to be losing some of her spite towards the Marauders.

"First Quidditch practice is next month. I've already put in our practice schedule," James, who I'd recently found out was a complete Quidditch freak, said. He was counting down the days. Literally, he was, Sirius had said. Marked right down on his calendar in bright red marker.

"Don't forget the trips to Hogsmeade start too!" Sirius added.

"What's so special about this Hogsmeade?" I asked, remembering the very little that Lily and Tonks had told me about.

"It's got _almost_ everything. The second best joke shop is there," Remus said, as if that explained everything.

"What's the first best?"

"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," James, Sirius, and Remus said in unison.

"That's in Diagon Alley, so you don't get to go there often," James said in a dissatisfied way.

"We'll show you around Hogsmeade, if you'd like," Sirius offered.

"Umm, not to be the party-crasher, but do you think they'll allow her to go? Her permission slip hasn't been signed by…" Remus trailed off.

"What? Family? Guardians?" I asked, slightly disappointed. This Hogsmeade place sounded fun, especially if _they_ would be my tour guides. "I guess it's fine. You guys can just tell me about it."

We stepped into the Great Hall and headed over to sit with Lily and Tonks (hopefully for the last time, Sirius had joked, earning a glare from me, Remus, and James).

"Nice potions work this morning," Tonks congratulated me. No matter what she had others thinking, she was as much as a trouble-maker as I was.

"I kinda slipped up…definitely an accident," I said.

Lily rolled her eyes at us. "At least he couldn't pin it on you," she finally said.

"No way! Is the _Perfect_ Lily Evans approving of _'bad behavior'?"_ Sirius asked in fake shock. "Someone write it down! It's history!"

"Shut-up Black," she snapped, making him smile.

Everyone ate in a waiting silence. Sensing we were waiting for her, Lily took a drink and said,

"You better keep her _out_ of _really_ bad trouble. If not, I'll be the one putting jinxes on a select few guys. So you can leave us alone now, and Nike can hang out with you guys if she wishes to."

Since we still had thirty minutes left of lunch, Remus started to talk about Hogsmeade with the guys, and surprisingly Lily and Tonks joined the conversation, adding in details or their opinions.

"Stupid letters. You'd think that woman would give a poor old owl a break. We're not machines," a raspy voice huffed, complaining. I looked up to see who had spoken and saw a pitch-black owl with yellow eyes fly through the window-type-arch-things close to the ceiling. It was carrying a wicked red envelope that looked ready to explode.

"What's that?" I asked. They paused in their argument about the joke shops and looked.

"It's a…Howler," Tonks said.

"Bloody hell! Can that woman ever lay off?" Sirius snatched the envelope and ran probably as fast as he could as a dog out of the Great Hall. The doors slammed shut and the owl collapsed in front of me.

"You poor creature," I muttered.

"You're Nike," it (he) muttered, and then fell asleep. Then out of nowhere I heard screaming.

"BLOOD TRAITOR! DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY NAME!" It sounded like a woman's shrill voice.

"Well it looks like my dear brother has received the weekly letter from our sweet, caring mother," a boy said. The screaming faded into the distance so I couldn't hear the awful words anymore.

I turned around and saw a boy that resembled Sirius just a little bit.

He was smaller than Sirius, and he had hard brown eyes. He too had black hair, but it wasn't wavy or long, it was very straight and short. He had Sirius' good looks, but to me he didn't look as good as Sirius, and that was probably because of the next thing I noticed. Instead of the markings of a Gryffindor, he had the ones of a Slytherin. Standing next to him was my enemy: Malfoy.

"You should really do something with the trash in your household Regulus," Malfoy sneered.

"I agree cousin. But unfortunately I cannot do much at the moment." He sounded sad about that. I did _not_ like this guy. Already I hated him more than Malfoy.

"You two are just jealous of him because he's got everything you two don't," James snapped. I could tell he felt the same way about him as I did. One look at Remus and I saw the same.

"Potter," Regulus said disdainfully. "Purebloods like your family are going to get tainted when you mingle with halfbloods and date and marry mudbloods."

James turned red in the face. "You have _no_ right—"

"Oh I have all the right in the world."

"Don't forget that _thing_ that your brother hangs out with now," Malfoy added, looking at me with hate. "What do you think your mother would say about that?"

Regulus turned his cold eyes on me and smiled crookedly. "My brother has strange tastes, but not all of them are bad." He looked at Malfoy like he was a loser. "_This_ is the girl that beat you up?"

"No, that ass—"

"Enough!" I yelled, leaping to my feet. "Leave him alone." Anger was swelling up inside of me, and my mind wasn't thinking clearly. Magic was building up, waiting to be released.

"Calm down Nike," Lily said, although she didn't sound like she meant it.

"They're not worth it," James agreed, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged them off.

"You don't like the truth about my brother _Nii-k_?" Regulus taunted. "Do you want to hear more?" Malfoy's smirk got bigger.

Just then Peter walked in, muttering, "…cry-baby…"

Not in control of what happened next, magic and anger flew out of me at who I happened to be looking at, Malfoy, wiping that stupid smirk right off his face. The magic flowed slowly and triumphantly back into me and I was able to think only partially clear. The red-hot anger was still there.

"What did you do?" a girl shrieked. I looked down at Malfoy and saw he was a big ugly baby, bawling its fat head off. He had a sagging white diaper on and was flailing his legs and arms around in a major temper-tantrum.

Regulus observed me with calculating eyes, like I was some kind of experiment. He smiled arrogantly at me and said, "See you later." And then he walked off.

I heard laughter and some people yelling encouraging things at me, like "turn him into something else!" I turned and was surprised to see even Lily was laughing slightly.

"How _dare_ you!" hissed a dry voice. I stared up into the face of Professor Damant. "How dare you use magic on another student!"

"He was asking for it." I shrugged.

"You will not speak to me in that tone and you will never again—"

"And who says I have to listen to you?" I demanded. "You're not my Head of House!"

"_I_ am a professor, the deputy headmaster, and more importantly, an _adult_," he snapped.

"Yeah? Try acting like it then, why don'tcha?"

"DETENTION!" he bellowed. The room was quiet, so his voice bounced around the room.

"Like I care!"

"Good! You'll have one month—"

"One week, I should think," Weasley cut in from his seat at the professors' table. Other than that, the rest of them were silent, watching like they had nothing better to do.

Professor Damant ignored him. "Change him back!"

"No thanks. I like him better that way." James coughed behind me.

"_CHANGE. HIM. BACK!"_ the professor repeated.

"Get it through your abnormally thick head! N. O!" I stalked out of the Great Hall, hiding my smile.

That felt good.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I don't know about you guys, but I like the rebellious Nike better. I might have to keep her sarcastic mode turned on almost 24/7. What do you think? And then there was Regulus…you'll be seeing a lot of him and Dominatrix (my version of Bellatrix, except she's going to be **_way _**worse). **

**Okay, I'm trying to keep my author's notes short, so that's it. Next chapter: Nike meets a new friend. Who could it be? Any guesses?**

**Let me know what you thought! **

**R&R please!**

**Nike**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Twelve

Gary Napier

* * *

><p>"Umm…what's going on in there?" someone asked cautiously.<p>

"Holy hell!" I jumped, turning to look in the shadows by the wall, where the voice came from.

The guy from our Quidditch tryouts that Jean and Amata had bothered me about, Gary Napier, stepped out of the shadows, looking at me with an unreadable expression.

"Sorry, what?" I said, regaining my composure.

"What's going on in there?" he repeated. "Sounds like an uproar."

"Let's just say that if you were looking forward to eating a nice, quiet lunch, you might want to come back later or head for the kitchens," I said. "But if you _do_ go in there, if the Headmaster or Professor Damnit asks for me, you've never ever in your entire life seen me before." I nodded to him and walked down the hall.

"Hey, hold on," Napier said. "What happened? I don't think I've ever heard the old geezer that mad before."

I chuckled softly. "I didn't think Ravenclaws disrespected any professor."

"Yeah, well even we lower ourselves to insult _that _one," he said, still not showing much emotion. What did he have to hide?

"Why does that not surprise me?" I replied.

"Hmph. Well you're this school's 'best' trouble-maker, so I don't think anything that has to do with disrespect surprises you."

"Disrespect? Excuse me? I happen to have more respect for anything and everything than anyone else in this damned school." I glared at him, wanting to punch his guts out already. And from what I had sensed from him, I thought he was a decent guy. Now I was starting to doubt myself.

"Right. That's why you like to prance around the school breaking all the rules. You think that because the Ministry was after you that you're better than everyone here."

"Hey, it's not a problem if I don't get caught. You Ravenclaws are just envious that I'm sneaky and you're not."

"Envious? That's a pretty big word for an uneducated wild girl."

"Uneducated? I bet I know a hell of a lot more than you!"

"Then you would know that we Ravenclaws are _much_ sneakier than you could ever dream of being."

"Oh I don't _think_ so."

"And why not?"

"Have _you _ever eluded the Ministry for years at a time?"

"Another big word. I'm impressed."

"_Have _you?"

"What do you think? Do I _look _like a criminal to you?"

"Actually you like a self-centered, know-it-all braggart."

"Touché."

"What the hell is your problem?" I growled.

"You, obviously."

"Well then maybe you should just walk away. Seems to me I didn't ask you to follow me down the hall."

"No, you didn't."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because of you."

"_What_?"

"You heard me."

"Yeah, well _'what'_ in that sentence was meant to be heard as confusion. I thought _you_ would know that, oh-so wise Ravenclaw."

"You're quick. I didn't think a Gryffindor could be."

I whirled around to face him. "What is _that _supposed to mean? I happen to have a friend who's smarter than all of you Ravenclaws put together. And she just _happens _to be a Gryffindor."

"Hey, settle down. I didn't mean it like that. And I am _not _disrespecting Lily Evans. I like her. Our two Houses get along just fine."

"Well you're gonna change that if you keep talking, boy."

"Okay. I'm _sorry_. But I just had to see if the others in my House were right. And they were."

"Huh?"

"You. You're a true Gryffindor."

"And…"

"Never mind."

"You want to go to the kitchens?" I asked, not sure why I bothered. Ha. I knew why now. I could kill him without there being any witnesses. He glanced at me curiously, probably thinking what I was thinking.

"Are you going to murder me?"

"No," I said. "I'll save that for the Quidditch field." Together, we headed for the kitchens.

"You aren't the only famous one in this school."

"No kidding. You think? That's kinda how I knew you were the best Chaser in the school."

"You flatter me."

"Ha. It's definitely _not _me. That's something I'll have to see to believe."

"And you think you can tell the difference?" he replied curtly, getting defensive.

"I'm a Keeper. Of course I can."

"Right. You're the _best_ Keeper. Well I'm sorry to say I feel the same way as you." His intelligent sarcasm was starting to tick me off.

"Yeah, well you've already seen me play," I shot back, referring to the tryouts. I thought I would have caught him, then I would demand an explanation of why he was there in the first place, but this wasn't the case. He was too quick. He had a mouth on him.

"Any amateur that had the smallest amount of skill there is could've stopped anything they were giving you. Besides, it was mostly your Chasers; you barely even had a chance."

"Are you doubting my ability?"

"I don't know. Are you doubting mine?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I am."

"Let's get this straightened out right now."

"And I bet you have some brilliant idea because you're a Ravenclaw, huh?"

"But of course."

"Let's hear it then _genius_."

He turned to face me and said, "Let's go test our skills."

* * *

><p>Outside, I was positioned by the goals while Napier was in front of me, holding a Quaffle. He looked comfortable and even more confident being up in the air with it in his hands.<p>

"You ready?" he asked.

"Why the hell would you ask? I don't want you going easy. Screw good sportsmanship," I snapped. I thought I saw him smile, but I couldn't be sure because not even a second later he had no expression at all.

I saw him shift, and that was all the warning I got before the Quaffle was soaring for the lowest left goal. I dropped quickly and snatched it up before it could get too close. He threw it fast and hard, that was for sure. My hands were burning from the connection. I tossed it back, none to softly, and was pleased when I heard him grunt when he caught it. He wasn't the only one who could throw hard. Just as soon as it was in his hands, it was in the air, soaring for a new target. And just like before, I would predict his actions seconds before and intercept it. And so it went on like that for probably about thirty minutes, and by that time I knew for sure that he was _really_ good because he was giving me a serious workout. And nothing so far, not even during flying lessons, had caused me to sweat. Until he came along, that is.

"Okay. I'm convinced now," Napier said through ragged breaths, putting the Quaffle underneath his arm. We flew to the ground and I collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"I…am…impressed," I managed to get out.

He sat down next to my sprawled out figure and smirked. That was probably the first emotion even _close _to I smile I'd ever seen come from him.

"That doesn't boost my confidence much since you haven't seen any at _least_ half-way decent Chasers in your life."

"Sorry, but that's the best I've got for you," I replied, getting back to my regular breathing pattern.

"You're pretty good," he said.

"Only _pretty_ good?" I questioned.

He rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, fine. You're _really_ good. Best I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of Keepers. My dad is on Ireland's professional team."

"Aww thanks. That brings a tear to my eye." I wiped a pretend tear from my eye, causing him, to my complete and utter surprise, to _smile_.

"Gary Napier," he said, offering me his hand.

"I know," I said, shaking his hand. "I'm Nike."

"I know."

"So…" I said awkwardly. Now that we were actually getting along, I wasn't sure how to talk to him.

"So…" he repeated, smiling at me as if he could tell I was confused.

"You're dad's a pro?"

"Yeah. He's a Keeper, actually."

"And you're saying I'm _better_ than your dad?" I scoffed. "I honestly don't think so."

"Okay, fine. You're pretty damn close with him. It is most likely a tie."

"I will have to see him play someday," I muttered, more to myself than to him.

"Yeah, you should. I think he'd like to meet you. You're like him in many ways." I smiled crookedly, and we fell into another silence, which soon became too much because to me it seemed he was waiting for me to say something.

"How come you never smile?" I blurted out. Then I kicked myself. That was _so _stupid.

"There's never a reason to," he said simply, not giving me the weird look I'd expected. He actually treated it like it was the most normal question in the world.

"I know how that is," I muttered.

"Yet you found your reasons," he said.

"Umm…yeah. I guess I did." I looked away from him. "Although I'm not exactly sure why. I've always convinced myself that these people are evil; that they don't have a decent bone in their body. Ever since one of them turned into a lyger named Xylekaon, who was my best friend, it made me hate them all. I wasn't sure where Xylekaon had gone. One day we were running from them and he disappeared for a night. The next morning, he was at my side, and a few weeks later, he changed into a man who'd hidden his features, and I was brought down. I never knew what they did to him, but I've come to accept the worst; that he's dead. He was the only one that I ever _truly_ trusted, you know? And now that he, although it wasn't really _him_, I guess, betrayed me, I can't trust ever again."

I don't know why I was telling him any of this, I hadn't even told Lily, Tonks, or any of the Marauders. I guess it was because, like I had noticed days before, I felt I connected with him.

"I understand how you feel," Napier said softly, laying down on the ground next to me. "My mum, when I was four years old, just walked out on us yelling and screaming all because she'd found out my dad was a wizard. She didn't even give him a chance. I can remember her looking at me in disgust right before she slammed the door shut in my face when I went to beg her not to leave me. It may not be the same type of betrayal you're talking about, but it was enough to make me not trust people easily." I met his eyes and saw the memory had clouded them.

"That's horrible," I said. "How could someone do that? Let alone a parent to their child?"

"There's a lot of things that you've yet to learn about this part of the world, Nike."

"There's still no excuse for that!"

"I know, believe me. But it's possible to move on. I didn't blame my dad for what happened, even though I know that's what my mum wanted. Instead we became closer, and when he remarried, I welcomed his new wife warmly. But it took a long time for me to be able to trust her, and she understood, which made it easier."

"I never knew my parents," I muttered softly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I have no memory of them at all. Since my first conscious thought, all I can remember is the forest life. No humans what-so-ever."

"Who do you think they were?"

"I honestly don't know. I've never given it much thought. I'd always thought that if I was left alone and abandoned by them, then they obviously aren't worth my time or thoughts. But then sometimes…I have to wonder if they are dead and died protecting me or something like that."

"Which would you rather think?"

"Most likely the first choice," I said after a moment of thought. "It's easier for me to live with, I think."

He nodded in understanding. "I think I would probably pick the same thing if I were you."

"I like you Napier. You're not the jackass I'd originally thought you out to be."

"And I like you Keep. You're not the stuck-up bitch the Slytherins say you are. You're similar to what I thought you'd be."

"Call me Nike."

"No, I don't think so. I'll call you Keep," Napier said, smiling at me again. "But you can call me Gary."

"And I think I'll take your advice. For once."

"It's nice having someone to talk to," Gary said.

"It is. I think I'll come to you more often," I said, looking up at the sky. "Maybe we can even practice Quidditch together. You know, to make ourselves the best."

"That sounds like a great idea."

"Of course it is. I came up with it."

"Friends?" he asked, chuckling.

"Friends," I agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So….what do you think? Huh, huh? Yes, I realize that is a lot of unexpected information to process all at once, but you've got to expect things like that from me! **

**I can tell already that this is going to be the start of a **_**beautiful **_**friendship! *sighs and wipes a tear from eye* Can't you see it in the near future? **

**Is that how you expected their friendship to start? Let me know what you thought! I would like to know whether or not you loved or hated it! Criticism is appreciated too, along with, you know, anything you can or can't give me! Also, just so you know, Gary's character was an afterthought, so there isn't much of him in book one, and the parts he's in might seem scratchy because they were added later. So please forgive me.**

**Next chapter: R.o.R**

**R&R people! Reading your reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!**

**(Okay…well not **_**fuzzy**_**, but certainly **_**warm**_** and **_**happy**_**! But you fellow authors know the feeling, right?)**

**Nike**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Thirteen

Room of Requirement

* * *

><p>According to Weasley we were farther behind then he would have liked. We were still studying shape-shifters, and yesterday we had just finished the learning defense against the Persone-shifters, which, along with all the other 'shifters, was quite easy. Since he couldn't teach us any way to fight off an Ankh-shifter, today, we were finally getting to the last shape-shifter we had to cover: the Boggart.<p>

"We all remember the Boggarts, yes?" Weasley said, walking back and forth at the front of the classroom. He had cleared all of the tables and chairs away so that we had a lot of room.

"For safety precautions," he had told us when we had asked at the very first defense lesson. The Slytherins had class with us today, and I was pleased to see Malfoy wasn't there. But neither were Sirius and James. When Sirius hadn't shown up for Charms, James had gone to look for him. So it was just me and Remus.

"Today you're going to meet one because it just so happens I caught one last night lurking around the hallways." Some of the students didn't look too happy about that.

"Now it's quite simple to defeat the Boggart. When you see your worst fear or nightmare, picture in it in your head as something funny. When that is done, you raise your wand and say 'Ridiculous' and it will turn into what you pictured. Now you say it so I know you've got it right."

"Ridiculous," the class responded.

Weasley nodded. "Good. Now the Boggart will be confused for a moment because there's so many of us. So form a line that way it'll focus on one of you at a time. Hurry up! We haven't got all day!"

Remus and I were at the front of the classroom, which was soon the front of the line. "Can we move to the back?" Remus asked me. "I don't exactly want to share my fears. Especially since there's Slytherins in the room."

"I agree." We slipped to the back of the line and watched it begin.

Some of the fears that got changed were hilarious. I noticed some Gryffindors turned their fears into big crying babies throwing temper-tantrums. Those kids had humor. The Slytherins, however, were not so. Their idea of "funny" was their fears exploding and dying in other painful, gory ways. Like this one girl from Slytherin feared a wolf, and it turned into a wolf on fire. Its agonizing screams, howls, and whimpers having a deep affect on me, although I had no idea why. Wolves weren't important to me; they were equal with all the other animals that I had grown up with. It was probably because of Remus.

Remus seemed to sense this because he hugged me, muttering, "It's not real. They're just trying to be cruel, knowing it will affect any decent person." I nodded, knowing that he probably was closer to that pretend wolf than I was because of his "furry little problem". I glanced at Weasley, wanting to scream, "Why don't you stop this?" He looked slightly disgusted and nodded at me, getting the message.

"We're done here. One hundred points will be taken from Slytherin for unreasonable behavior. And I had hoped that you people would understand that the one and _only _thing that finishes a Boggart is the laughter, not the spell, nor the thoughts." The Slytherins got all ticked off and started to complain.

"Class dismissed," Weasley said, flinging them out. "That went on far too long. I'm sorry I didn't stop it sooner," he told us remaining Gryffindors. "Because we have such irresponsible twits in our class, don't expect to do much more until you're paired with a different House."

Weasley stopped Remus and I as we were walking out the door. "You might be getting a wand soon. It's taking so long because there's a huge debate against and for it. Tonight we're meeting again." I wasn't sure, but I think there was a message in his words.

Remus, understanding of course, nodded and said, "Thanks professor. It's nice to know someone's on her side. Is this meeting of yours a requirement?"

"For tonight, it is, my dear boy." They were losing me here, talking in riddles. "Enjoy the rest of your day," Weasley called cheerfully as we left his class.

"Care to explain?" I asked.

He smiled slightly. "Not yet."

"Ugh! I _hate_ having to use my patience! I only have so much of it to spare you know!" I warned him.

"Your patience is just going to have to hold out for a little while longer. Think you can handle it?"

"Nope."

He sighed in mock sympathy. "Well then, that's too bad." _Maybe he had some James and Sirius in him after all, _I thought.

* * *

><p>"Whatever you do, don't mention the Howler or Regulus to Sirius," Remus cautioned as we entered the Common Room.<p>

"Why?" Neither Sirius nor James had shown up for dinner, but Remus and Peter didn't seem worried. This must've been a normal thing.

"I don't think it's really my place to tell you," Remus said sadly. "But he tends to be a bit…different. More moody and he plays more pranks than usual, and they're usually pretty violent, as is he."

"It's that bad?" I asked, grimacing.

"That's why Padfoot scares people! When you meet him like this, you'll swear he's completely mad!" Peter said, eyes darting back and forth, looking for something. You really _could_ believe he turned into a rat.

"How often does this happen?" I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer; I was sure it was going to be bad.

"About once a week, sometimes more."

"That's horrible! What's he ever done?" I exclaimed. This lady had some serious issues. "He didn't get one last week though, did he?"

"He knew when it was coming last week and intercepted it before it came into the Great Hall." We walked up the stairs and went to the right.

I stopped. "Am I allowed to go in there?"

Peter kept walking, oblivious to the world as always, but Remus smiled knowingly and put an arm around my shoulders.

"Before curfew, yes, you're allowed." Peter opened the thirteenth door down and stepped inside. Remus and I followed him, but I stood in the doorway, still unsure.

I looked around and was surprised to find their room spotless except for one area by the door. Since rats were messy, I figured it was Peter's. Gryffindor banners were hung up on the walls and some pictures were on the bedside tables. I was impressed. Who knew guys like them were neat and organized?

James was sitting down at a rectangular table with four chairs doing homework and Sirius was laying down and appeared to be asleep. Peter sat on the edge of his bed, ready to bolt, and Remus just stood at my side, looking down at me as I took everything in.

There was an awkward silence (at least for me) and I felt like I was intruding. I took a step backwards, ready to leave.

"We don't bite you know," Remus said, grabbing my arm to stop me. James snorted and Remus seemed to realize what he said. "Well, not right now," he amended, glaring at James.

James looked up from his work. "You don't need to hide. You're welcome here." He gave me an encouraging smile. "It's just us."

"I'm not _hiding_," I said stubbornly. "I'm…" I trailed off. What _was_ I doing?

"Hiding? Yeah," James said. He gestured to a chair next to his. "Have a seat." I walked over to him and sat down hesitantly on the edge of the chair.

"I hear Malfoy's still crying," he said, trying to start a conversation. "No one can figure out how to fix him."

"Those people are so ungrateful. I do them a favor and they hate it," I said, pretending to pout, relaxing back in my chair. I glanced over at Sirius, then back at James. "How is he?"

James shrugged. "This is normal. Don't worry about it. You won't be the victim of one of his pranks."

"Who will?"

"Usually Slytherins or whoever's made him mad. The usual."

"Hey James?" Remus asked. "Can we borrow your cloak in a little bit?"

James stared at him evenly. "You and who?"

"Nike." Remus, I could tell, was trying to evade having to explain.

"Why?"

I opened my mouth to ask if someone could explain things to me, but Remus cut in,

"I want to show Nike something."

I thought James was going to continue questioning us, but he shrugged and turned back to his work. "Sure."

"I'm gonna take the map too."

James hesitated. "Okay," he said finally.

Remus looked relieved. "Well, I've got some stuff to do, so I'll see you later."

"Can I come?" Peter asked, bolting up. I don't think he trusted James, Sirius, and I alone. Remus seemed to be his "favorite" and he trusted him more.

"If you must," Remus replied, and they left.

The only sound for awhile was the sound of Sirius' deep breathing and James' quill scratching on paper. I looked over James' shoulder and saw he was working on Transfiguration homework.

"What's a Howler?" I asked after a few more minutes of silence began to get to me.

"Sorry?" James seemed caught off guard.

"What's a Howler?" I repeated.

"It's like a letter, except when it comes it's literally yelling to express its anger. You usually will get one when you've done something wrong and your parents or whatever are _really_ mad at you." James put away his homework, probably guessing more questions were coming.

"How is Regulus possibly Sirius' brother? He's a complete toerag."

"That Regulus is. Nike, I don't think we should talk about this. It's not—"

"Your place? Okay. But I just wanted to throw that out there."

"Your comment is appreciated," Sirius said. James and I both jumped guiltily and turned to face him. He was lounged back with his hands behind his head, and he had this mad look in his eye. "I'm sorry that you had to meet him. But I guess, being you, it was only a matter of time before you did," Sirius continued. "I pride myself being nothing like them."

"What's—" James cleared his throat, shaking his head slightly. Oh. Now's not the time to argue. "Maybe I should go," I told James. He nodded vaguely.

"Come back anytime," James said. "You're welcome here whenever ."

"I will." I looked back at Sirius, who was staring back at me like he wanted to tell me something. "You okay?" I asked after a minute, even though I knew he wasn't.

I thought he was going to make a smart-remark, but instead he said, "I've lived this long with it." He paused, then looked away. "Thanks."

I smiled, despite of myself. "For what?"

He smiled back sadly. "For more reasons then you know."

* * *

><p>I met Remus outside his room at a quarter to midnight. He still hadn't told me why or where we were going.<p>

I had almost told Lily and Tonks, but decided against it when I figured they would count that as them getting me into "too much trouble". Besides, I'd already had enough of them when they decided to question me about my "secret meeting" with Gary earlier today. They seemed to think we were—how did Tonks put it?—"hooking up".

Remus was dressed in normal clothes, blue jeans and a black t-shirt that was modest, unlike the ones that James and Sirius wore that showed off their muscles. He held the Marauder's Map and a silky material in his hands, as well as his wand.

"What's this?" I asked, touching the grayish silk.

"It's James' Invisibility Cloak. It's been in his family forever, so don't ask me where it came from." He put the cloak on and immediately disappeared.

"Wow, that's amazing!" I exclaimed in a hushed tone. "But…don't you have spells that make you invisible?"

"None that I know of; and I know a lot of spells and charms." We left the Common Room and he put the cloak over me so I disappeared too. He murmured the words that lit his wand and watched the map. He kept us away from teachers that were walking the hallways, but he was watching one spot in particular, seeing who all went in.

"What's the Room of Requirement?"

"It's where the meeting is being held. Professor Weasley wanted us to come to this particular one for some reason," Remus finally explained. _Now_ I understood their earlier exchange.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I figured that was obvious. You would have told the others. Normally I would tell James, Sirius, and Peter everything, and I wouldn't stop you from telling your friends, but we both know what would happen. Lily and Tonks wouldn't allow you to go, or they'd want to come too, as would James, Sirius, and…well, never mind. Peter wouldn't want to go. My point is, Sirius isn't up for it right now, and James is the only one who can sorta control him. So if James came, there's no telling what Sirius would do. Besides, all of us wouldn't fit under the cloak; three's as much that it can hold now that we're all older and bigger, no offense. We aren't eleven anymore is what I mean." He looked past the cloak (which we could see out of without lifting it up) and stopped in front of a bare stone wall.

"A wall is the Room of Requirement?" I asked, looking at the map which showed us right outside of a room labeled Room of Requirement. "Is the map not working?"

"The map never lies. Just be quiet and clear your mind for a moment," Remus said, not bothering to explain. He sure was secretive. Or maybe he was used to keeping to himself. Whatever the case, I did as he said and seconds later a door appeared in front of us.

"What is the Room of Requirement exactly?"

"Now's not the time," he said as he opened the door silently. "The meeting's about to start." Just as we were about to step inside I heard a squeak and the sound of small feet hitting the wooden floor, running. I pulled Remus to a stop when I saw glowing red eyes. Seeing it had been spotted, the thing left, going who-knows-where.

"Was that P—"

"Shhh!" Remus whispered. He gestured around us and I froze. Inside the Room of Requirement was what I would expect a court or council to look like. There was this table that went in a circle around the room with adults sitting in chairs. There were two particular parts of the table that were raised higher than the rest. Sitting in one of the seats was Professor Vera, and in the other a man with gray hair, dull brown eyes, and ill colored skin that seemed to be in his sixties. I looked around and saw Weasley, Adda, Professor McGonagall, Luna, and many other professors I did and didn't recognize and couldn't name them. Remus and I happened to be in the center of the circle, which had several other people situated here too. There was a loner, and then…

"What are they doing here?" I hissed. I absolutely hated them. Didn't they have others to terrorize?

Remus looked over and saw them. He gripped my arm tightly, reminding me that we had to keep our presence unknown. The look in his eyes clearly said, _Don't ruin this._

The man sitting next to the headmaster stood up, getting the attention of everyone in the room, including mine, which was planning on how to get some serious payback.

"We're here today to—" he started to say in a deep and powerful voice.

"We all know why we're here Minister," Adda snapped. "The cause is stupid, so let's just get this over with." So _he_ was the reason I was here. Good to know. Now I had every single person that I needed to get even with in one room. Wonderful.

"Settle down Mrs. Weasley," the Minister replied. "We will continue our discussion about Miss Nike, but it seems our Aurors have found some new—"

"I would like to share what I have seen." Luna's quiet voice both hushed and captivated everyone. You could just tell she was the most respected person in this room.

The Minister looked at her with revere. "Go ahead Professor Lovegood."

Luna stood up so she was better seen. "In the last class on the first day of this school year, I received a vision of the darkness setting in again. The sides will be drawn, the hunt will begin. He has new tricks and new ways. He will gain more power. Our fate relies on Her and Her followers."

"Who're we talking about here?" some professor I didn't know asked, confused.

"Voldermort will rise again." There was a collective breath.

"You speak His name!" Professor Damant exclaimed, the first to speak.

"It's been over a hundred years since Voldemort was defeated, yet we still have those who live in fear of his _name_?" Weasley asked incredulously. He was the second most respected in the room, I could tell.

"You've never met him and you weren't alive in that time. If anyone should be fearful, it should be Miss Lovegood here. She's seen Voldemort _and_ seen her friends and family die because of him!" Professor McGonagall agreed.

"Let's not forget our Minister was a Death Eater," scoffed a male Auror that I vaguely remembered. In fact, all the Aurors were looking at the Minister in disgust, which both surprised and confused me.

The Minister paled a little. "Yes, and it was the worst mistake of my life."

"It was our world's worst mistake voting a Death Eater in," muttered a female Auror, who's name I think was Zelka, muttered, standing next to us.

"The Dark Lord is to return?" Professor Vera asked Luna quizzically. I couldn't tell if he thought this was great news or a minor setback he would have to soon fix.

Luna nodded.

"When?" he asked.

Here she hesitated. "There is no set date, and I cannot see how. But Voldemort will return soon."

"But we have no Harry Potter this time!" exclaimed another professor.

"No, but I don't think Harry would've been able to defeat him this time even if he were alive and was still connected to him," Luna said quietly. The Aurors bowed their heads in remembrance. This Harry Potter must've been one of them.

"So we're all doomed?" a female Auror named René asked.

"No. There's someone out there. She will be the only one who is matched with Voldemort. She will lead his enemies…" Luna trailed off.

"What's the problem? Who is she? Nike?" a handsome Auror named Jack (who I had beaten up so many times I knew him quite well) asked.

Luna hesitated only for a second, something only Remus and I noticed.

"I don't think it is her, however she will have a part in this. The problem is…the only one who can lead us to victory and defeat Voldemort is the Ankh-shifter."

Everyone exploded.

"But the Ankh-shifters are extinct!"

"They're destined to be evil! It's in their family and blood!"

"We might as well turn to the Dark Lord and give him our full support." All eyes turned to the lone person in the center of the room. It was the loner, a woman who looked an awfully lot like Malfoy.

"Mrs. Malfoy, now is not your time to speak. You were permitted to come here only for the discussion of your son. If I had known this information would be revealed, you would not be here. So I suggest you hold your tongue," the Minister snapped. Malfoy's mom crossed her arms over her chest and sat back in her chair, glaring. The Minister of Magic turned back to Luna.

"You're sure he will return?"

"Yes. Soon."

"Very well." The Minister addressed the headmaster and professors, "Don't let word of this get to the students yet. I want more research done before we let word get out. Then we'll have to teach them even more defensive learning strategies so they can be protected. If it is anything like last time, he will come here. I don't want the students harmed. Most may not be involved…but some will."

"What's any of that going to do? We have no Ankh-shifter to lead us," a scared looking professor said.

"We will search for her," the lead Auror, Dubois, said.

"No! She will find us," Luna said.

"We're done discussing this. We don't have much time, and I'm tired of the endless meetings. If I had known the girl would be this much trouble, I would have left her alone." The Minister looked down at the table, reading something. "Why are we here tonight? Must she be sentenced already?"

There were exclamations for both sides. Surprisingly, I had gotten most of the professors on my side, but not enough that would convince anybody. But what really shocked me the most was the Aurors sticking up for me.

"That girl has too much talent and potential to be locked up!" one exclaimed.

"The Dementors will suck the life out of her on first sight!" another said.

"She'll find a way to break out, causing the third jail-break in history," Dubois said, silencing his group.

"Okay, okay!" the Minister yelled. "The girl requires a wand, yes? She doesn't—"

"We all thought the same as you, but, no, she doesn't," Professor McGonagall said. "She is extremely powerful."

"Yes, thank you. What is the argument against Miss Nike receiving a wand? It is, after all, the right of every witch and wizard."

"But she's a danger to us all!" a professor protested.

"What happened to Mr. Malfoy was perfectly reasonable, although her punishment was not," Adda snapped, shooting a glare at the professor who had spoken against me.

"Excuse me if I happen to think otherwise," Mrs. Malfoy said huffily.

"We'll take that thought into account, but don't be offended if we could care less," Adda retorted. "You Malfoys think everything revolves around you—"

"And you Weasleys don't?" Mrs. Malfoy scoffed. "Ohh! The famous Harry Potter married into our scum family! Now we can actually afford to live! Big deal! He was a wretched boy, he was."

"He was not!" an Auror exclaimed, her hands clenching into fists.

"I do not publicize that, and neither does the rest of my family. Why don't you keep your nose in your own business, hmm?" Adda was getting angry.

The Minister coughed. "I hate to interrupt this lovely discussion, but back to the present subject. We only have five minutes left, so how about we make a deal?"

"I don't think that girl should receive one," the headmaster said. "There's something off and not right about her. Not to mention she doesn't deserve one." Yay. I had made an enemy with the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Lucky me.

"Nike may go to Diagon Alley and I personally will pay for her wand and, since I hear she may be the best Keeper Hogwarts has ever seen, a nice broom for Quidditch," he said, cutting off more arguments. "But," he added as the protesters started to whine again. "she will change Mr. Malfoy back to normal before she departs. When the students first go to Hogsmeade, one of you will take her to Diagon Alley."

"I'll take her," Weasley volunteered. To tell the truth, I wasn't surprised. I felt relieved he would be there with me.

"Good. We're done here. Meeting adjourned."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Mwahahaha! Voldemort will return! How do you like that? I have to ask though, are you guys confused with when this takes place still? Or did you guys figure it out already? I know I'm going to explain better in a following book, but if you're reading this and are confused, well that's just no fun, is it?**

**And the Aurors, they're interesting pieces of works I think. But, with that, I want to be one when I grow up! Don't you? ;) **

**And Nike finally gets a wand. But will she use it ever? Or will she stick with Wandless magic? What do you people think? Do you think it'll make her **_**more **_**powerful or **_**less **_**powerful? Or what about somewhere in between?**

**OK. Next chapter: Doughboy (you should be happy for this one, Twin :)**

**Let me know what you are thinking! Please review!**

**Nike**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Fourteen

Doughboy

* * *

><p>Even though it was Saturday, I still woke up really early, something I had always done. Tonks and Lily were still asleep, so I crept downstairs to the common room. The fire was blazing in the stone fireplace, something that I had grown attached to in my two weeks time here at Hogwarts. I walked over to it and sat in one of the chairs closest to the warm comforting glow, enjoying the silence of the early morning. The seat wasn't how I remembered it being though, which was strange.<p>

"I figured you were the type that was an early riser," James said from behind me.

I jumped up and faced him. "What are you doing there? Since when are you up and about this early and alone? Sirius told me you Marauders never get out of bed 'til eight!" I felt extremely embarrassed and James looked flustered too.

"This is an exception. I needed to talk to you alone."

I sat down on the floor in front of him. "You could've just asked me later. You didn't have to get up at five a.m."

"We'll be busy later setting up pranks for Regulus and his friends. And you'll be with Lily and Tonks having some girl bonding time. Right now's the only chance I've got for now."

"'Girl bonding time'?" I asked skeptically. "Really? Are you serious?"

"No," he said derisively.

"Fine," I huffed. "What do you want?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "When you and Remus were sneaking out after curfew, I kinda thought…well, you know, that you two were…"

"Remus and me?" I laughed. That was hilarious. "You know Remus likes Tonks whether she knows and likes it or not! Besides, Remus is my friend, nothing more."

James relaxed. "Good. I mean…I thought that was the case but Remus usually gets…" James stopped.

"Remus does what?"

"Forget it. It's none of my business I guess. Anyways, Peter and I followed you two in Animagus form so we could follow you by smell." So that thing in the hall I saw last night _was_ Peter.

"You know we snuck into the professors' meeting or whatever. No big deal. You heard everything?" Actually, I was kind of relieved some others had heard. Maybe for once I wasn't the only one confused.

"No. Peter was the only one who got in. He climbed under the invisibility cloak and sat on Remus' shoe. When Peter's a rat he has an even shorter attention span than he usually does, and mind you that's saying _a lot_, so he only heard Adda and Malfoy's mom arguing, and the deal for you to get a wand. But that wasn't all, was it?"

"How come you didn't ask Remus?"

"Because… I don't know."

I figured I could trust him, so I told him what had happened at the meeting. When I finished James was silent. Finally, he said,

"That's some bad news."

"Who's Voldemort?" I asked. I figured since I was giving him answers, he could return the favor.

"Voldemort was as evil as they get and he was the most fearsome wizard of all times. To this day people are still afraid to speak his name, thinking it's still voodoo. He was completely mad. He split his soul eight times and put them in Horcruxes, which are things that protect them, which made him extremely hard to kill. His followers were called Death Eaters, and they were merciless just like their master. My great-great-grandfather, Harry Potter, was the only person who lived when Voldemort tried to kill him. He was called The Boy Who Lived, and was prophesied to be the only one who cold defeat Voldermort. After seven years of fighting and endless torture and deaths, Harry Potter succeeded. But for some reason, somehow, Voldemort is rising again, and if he's more powerful than before, we're all as good as dead. Especially…"

"…since the Ankh-shifter is the only one who can defeat him? Yeah, I know. I pay attention when Weasley teaches."

We sat in companionable silence for about an hour, lost in our own thoughts. I heard someone coming down the stairs and wasn't surprised to see Lily. She walked over to me and froze. The look on her face was utter confusion and…was that _jealousy_? I shook that ridiculous thought away. Lily hated James, even if most of that hate had died down in the past weeks.

"This isn't what I expected," she said icily to James.

James was tongue-tied. It seemed Lily rendered him speechless more than anyone else.

"You two think exactly the same. Next you're going to think something's going on between me and Sirius!" I said smiling. Lily's face turned red and her and James exchanged glances.

"Actually, that's what Tonks and I originally thought," Lily said while James said,

"Is there?"

I sat there, stunned for a moment. Lily and James took that silence as a yes.

"That boy!" Lily growled. "Can he not lay off? It's always the same!"

"I can't believe he didn't tell me! We never keep secrets," James said. "I guessed as much from the way you two act around each other, but—"

"Whoa, hey! Umm…what?" I asked, uncomfortable. "You think Sirius and I… No! How many times is that going to happen? First you think Remus—"

"_Remus__?"_ Lily shrieked. "Oh if T… Never mind."

"I was mistaken. Last night they snuck out—"

"James!" I hissed.

"What?" Lily and James said in unison. Where James sounded innocent, Lily sounded furious.

"You weren't going to tell them?" James asked, bemused.

"_I_ was! Not you!"

"What did you do?" Lily demanded, sitting on the arm of James' chair. So I told her.

Lily was a great listener, just like James. It was freaky how much alike they were, even though they had some minor differences.

"That's horrific," she replied after I finished telling her everything. I was taken aback that she wasn't mad about what we had done. She only had one question, "But how did you sneak in there and weren't seen?"

I looked at James. It was up to him to inform her of their secrets.

"Magic," he replied with a roguish smile.

"Oh thank you Captain Obvious," she retorted.

"You're very welcome." A couple kids came down the stairs and almost tripped and fell the rest of the way from the sight they saw. It wasn't everyday that you saw Lily Evans and James Potter being civilized to each other.

Lily stood up after she finished trying not to laugh at the kids. "You want to go to breakfast?"

"No thanks," I said. "I'm not hungry right now."

She nodded, understanding. Her and Tonks had learned I wasn't into eating much in the mornings. I'd rather just drink something. She cast a sideways glance at James.

"What about you Potter?"

James looked startled, but of course he responded normally. "You mean me Evans? Are you sick? On something? Maybe you're not _really_ my Lily-flower. Who are you and why did you take Polyjuice potion to turn into Evans?"

"Forget it," she snarled.

"Yes, I'd love to come, even if it's not the real you. I'll take what I can get." He smiled sweetly to her, which she pointedly ignored.

"See you later Nike," she said, and together, Lily Evans and James Potter walked out the room. That was a sight I'd never expected to see, and I didn't expect to see it ever again.

* * *

><p>I must've dozed off sitting in front of the warm crackling fire, because at first I wasn't aware of what was around me. But when I opened my eyes, I saw Sirius leaning against me, staring at the fire. I nearly jumped out of my skin.<p>

"You Marauders have _got_ to stop sneaking up on me! You're going to give me a heart-attack! I swear, if Peter ever does that, I'm slapping him."

He sat up and laughed, making me feel better. I'd been worried about him, but he looked a lot better today, not nearly as depressed.

"Does he scare you?" he asked teasingly. "Remember: he's more scared of you then you are of him."

"Uh, no. Of course not. He just creeps me out. I never liked rats or mice," I said. "And do _not_ start lecturing me about animals. Even though you're a dog and everything…I think I know more than you do."

"Yes ma'am. Whatever you say ma'am."

"Oh shut-up," I said, sitting up so I could smack him.

He caught my hand and then dropped it, looking away. "Are you attracted to fire or something? Or do you like sleeping on hard surfaces?"

"I was talking to James and Lily earlier."

"Oh. Sounds like the ideal thing to do in the morning, hearing Prongs and Evans argue. Should make anyone's day."

"He just wanted to know where Remus and I went last night, and then when Lily heard she freaked out."

Sirius frowned. "You and Remus…" His eyes darkened.

"If you come to the same conclusion as James did, I'm hurting you. Already this morning Lily and James combined have though I'm having an affair with all of the Marauders except Peter. It's starting to irritate me."

"With _all_ of us huh? Can't choose who you like the most? You busy girl." He smirked. "We are kind of alike, but then we have some differences in personality…"

"I'm gonna say this again: _shut-up_."

"But if you had to choose between us three… Hmm… I supposed Remus wouldn't be on the top because you'd have to live in fear of him eating you every full moon."

"Actually, Remus is on the _top _of my list, now that you mention it. If only he weren't completely bonkers over Tonks." I sighed dramatically.

He ignored me. "James might be first, but you never know. But then Remus and James are off-limits at the moment because they're hopelessly in love with your two best friends."

"I just said that, Sirius," I tried again. But like before, he ignored me.

"Is Peter even in this? No, probably not. He freaks you out…and he's gay, so there's that little detail."

"Sirius Black!"

"What?" He looked at me innocently.

"Are you trying to tell me that if I was looking for someone I should choose you?"

"Am I? I have no idea. I'm just trying to think like you."

"So you want to be a girl now?" I smiled. "Who'd be on the top of your list? James? Remus?"

He wouldn't be put off. "Let's see…if I _was_ a girl, I think I'd date my present self. But I'm not, so…" He sighed in mock disappointment. "There goes that idea. But I'm not talking about me. Just you."

"Well if you were, you could carry a mirror around," I suggested. "You could follow yourself everywhere, you could talk to yourself…"

"Ooohhh…I get it. Thanks for the idea. I never would have come up with it myself."

"Of course you wouldn't've." I patted his arm like I would if he were a dumb little child.

"Hey! What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing Sirius," I said tiredly, like I was a teacher exasperated at a student who no matter what just couldn't get the concept. "Just insulting your intelligence."

"Aren't you temperate," he said sarcastically.

"Always."

Sirius stood up and offered his hand. "Come on, I'm hungry."

I rolled my eyes but let him help me up. "You are _such_ a guy."

"Yep. I wasn't serious about me being gay."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! I think I'd be able to tell."

"What about both?"

"No."

We walked out of the room and into the hallway where some students were loitering. One girl glared at me and elbowed her friend, pointing. I looked down and realized I was still holding his hand. I dropped it quickly. Lily and Tonks weren't kidding when they said that girls _really_ liked him. Jeesh. Grow up people.

"You never know with you," I said.

"Why would you care?"

"What is it they say? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?"

"So now I'm your enemy?"

"You're somewhere in between."

"Yes! I have my own category!"

"You're a moron."

"_That's_ why we get along so well. We're a pair of morons!"

"Jerk."

"Thank you."

We sat down at the Gryffindor table, which was almost completely full. I'd say not many kids here were morning-people, if I had to take a guess. I didn't spot Remus, Tonks, Lily, James, or Peter. I looked around for Gary, but couldn't find him either.

"It's just me and you this morning?"

"Seems like it." I reached for some cereal that I had yet to try, but Sirius shook his head at me. "You don't want to eat that."

"Why not?" Suspicion started to sink in.

"Let's just say it's not good for your health."

"Care to explain?"

"That's Regulus' favorite cereal, and every morning he comes over and steals our table's supplies. Today I put a potion that makes him blurt out the truth and he won't be able to quit until the potion wears off." He paused, thinking. "Actually…go ahead, if you want. That would be—" He stopped, looking over my shoulder. "When you speak of the devil you summon him and his twin," he muttered.

I turned around and saw Regulus walking our way with a pale skinned girl (even paler than Remus on the full moon) that had long and wild curly black hair and cold, soulless signature blackish-grey eyes that labeled her a Black. She was average height, but the way she carried herself told me she was a fighter.

"So this is your new _pet_," the girl said in a voice filled with hatred and utter madness. I didn't like the way she said 'pet'. It made it sound like I was something Sirius would and couldn't wait to throw away soon, which really made no sense to me.

"Dominatrix," Sirius said icily.

She laughed. "Don't sound too happy to see me cousin." _Another_ psychotic family member? Oh gods, poor Sirius.

Regulus leaned over me and grabbed a handful of cereal. He looked at me and then back at Dominatrix.

"This isn't like the others in his collection. She might be one of us." _Collection?_ Now I was starting to get mad.

Sirius shot up, towering over his brother and cousin. "She is _nothing_ like _you_."

Regulus smiled brutally. "Little bit protective are we? Interesting."

"Tell me, are you implying she's like _you_?" Dominatrix asked Sirius, looking me over with cruel eyes, like she couldn't wait to torture me, all for fun.

"Hey Regulus?" I asked, keeping emotion out of my voice.

"Yes?"

"Were you a cute little baby?"

Dominatrix snorted. "_Cute_? Far from it! He was the _ugliest_—"

"Well that's too bad."

Regulus, getting the message, stepped quickly away from me, like putting distance between us would stop my magic. Ha. Fat chance there.

"Nike, no," Sirius said. "He isn't worth it." By that I knew he meant I needed to be watching what I was doing. You never knew. Maybe they'd count turning teenagers into whiny little crying babies as "hurting" them.

"Let me tell you who isn't worth your attention or time," Regulus said to me. "Why don't you join us? You could have whatever you want. We can see you were meant to be in Slytherin, not that pathetic House Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat made a mistake. Only great ones belong to Slytherin, and _you_ are one of them."

I tried not to lose my temper, and some part of me tried not to panic. Was he right? Had the Sorting Hat made a mistake? Was I really bad? Was I meant to be in Slytherin? I had no idea, but I was sure of one thing; I needed to figure out who _I_ was before I could answer those.

Shaking those thoughts from my mind, I realized what else Regulus had offered me. Ugh. This guy was creepier than Peter, and that was saying a lot.

I noticed something. "Forget it you creep. No one tells me what's best for me except me." I gestured to the cereal in his hand. "I wouldn't eat that if I were you."

Dominatrix hissed angrily and Regulus frowned. Apparently they hadn't liked my answer. However, Sirius, on the other hand, was looking at them smugly.

"Nice try. You may deprive us of you, but you won't deprive me of my cereal. Soon, you'll see the truth, and you'll come." He stuffed the handful in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

Sirius grinned wickedly, adding to the smug look. "For once you should've listened."

"I hate listening!" he yelled. "No one is as awesome as me! Except maybe Peter." Dominatrix looked at Regulus strangely, as if he had lost his mind. I agreed with her on that part. He'd kind of just insulted himself, I'm sure.

"I absolutely _loathe_ Sirius and Potter! They're so perfect and fearless! I hate those two and Lupin! _They_ get the three girls that should be all mine! They don't deserve them!" Now _that_ seriously scared me.

"Regulus!" Dominatrix ridiculed him. "How _dare_ you be jealous of the family traitor! How _dare_ you love a mudblood!" Man, was it in their family genes to yell all the time?

Regulus, who seemed to be in a trance, didn't hear her. "I'm scared to be the Seeker for Slytherin because I know Sirius and Lupin will surely kill me!"

"Be afraid. Be _very_ afraid," Sirius said in a deep, haunting voice.

"Potter will beat me, and I'll shame my whole House! I'm infatuated with the Dark Arts, but I suck at everything I do! I'm obsessed with cookie dough. I sneak into the kitchens every night and demand the house-elves give me all the cookie dough I want. I couldn't live without it."

"Okaaayyy doughboy," I said. Sirius laughed at the name, accepting it.

"What's going on here?" Professor Vera said, glaring at me like it was all my fault. For once, it wasn't. I'd surprised us both.

"Regulus just came over and decided to be truthful with us," I said ingenuously.

"We've heard enough, so we're leaving," Sirius added.

Professor Vera's eyes narrowed, but he didn't stop us. Regulus was still babbling on.

"Doughboy? You couldn't have picked a more perfect name. You're a genius," Sirius said when we were out of the Great Hall.

"I could've done without certain parts of that information. Now I'm disturbed. I'm glad we left when we did, I don't think I could've handled much more without losing it."

"You've already lost it," he chuckled. "I've got to warn you though," he said soberly.

"About what?"

"They're not people you should be messing with. Especially Dominatrix; her name says it all about her." I thought of the definition, and then looked at him, alarmed.

"They let people like that come here?"

Sirius shrugged. "If they let a fugitive like you in, they can't deny access to someone like her." Strange enough, that was the answer I'd expected to come from him. "But seriously Nike, stay away from my family. You don't know what they're like."

"Then tell me."

He shook his head. "You don't want to know."

"How long is that potion supposed to last?" I asked, changing the subject, sensing he didn't want to talk about his family. That was a touchy subject, I knew, and I didn't want to press him. If he wanted me to know, he'd tell me.

"With as much as he ate…I'd say about an hour or two."

"Wow. That's some pretty powerful stuff."

"Yep. The worst deserves nothing but the worst."

I rolled my eyes at him and opened my mouth to speak, but he said, "Yeah, I know. _Moron_."

"I don't sound like that," I protested.

"Sure you do." He grinned. "Come on, I want to show you something before we go our separate ways."

* * *

><p>"Does that witch have one eye?"<p>

"Looks like it," Sirius replied.

"It's…interesting. Definitely something I've never seen before," I managed.

Sirius laughed. "This isn't what I wanted to show you."

"Oh! This is another secret passageway."

"It is smart-one." He turned to the statue and tapped it with his wand, muttering, "Dissendium." The witch opened up, revealing an opening that any normal sized person could crawl through.

"Let me go first so I can light the way," he offered.

"And how are you going to do that?" I teased.

"With my dazzling personality of course!" he said as he crawled through the passage.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I called after him.

I heard his laughter and he said, "Come on Witchy Nike. Don't be scared."

I crawled on my hands and knees, following a light from ahead of me. "Me? Scared? Ha! Nice one," I said.

"Hey, watch right there, it drops off pretty steeply," he said in a serious tone.

"Hmm? Where?"

"Be—" and then I felt myself falling. My fall was cushioned and I both felt and heard Sirius' laughter. "Told you."

"Sorry," I said as I got off him.

He smiled. "Don't be. Not your fault, it's all mine."

I picked up his wand from where it had fallen and tried the words they had said many times before, "Lumos." The light from his wand lit up the whole room.

"What?" I asked. The look on his face was confusing me.

"Nothing."

"Good." I walked off and left him in the dark.

"Nike!" he called. "I can't see! You're going to make me run into a—Ow!" he yelled. "There's a wall!"

"Why are you moving you idiot? Of course there's a wall!" He grunted. Sighing, I walked back towards him. The area was empty.

"Sirius?" I called. Silence met my words. I started to get worried. "This is _not_ funny!"

I heard a growl and turned around just in time to see something run at me, knocking me to the ground. It was a huge black dog, blocking me from getting up.

The dog started to shift and in seconds the dog was replaced with Sirius, who was grinning.

"Scared ya didn't I?"

"Scared me? You gave me a freakin heart attack! What is wrong with you?"

He got off of me and took his wand from my hands, and then helped me up. "That was my goal." We continued walking.

"What'd you do to your eye?" His left eye looked bruised, but not too badly.

"These walls are pretty solid." The look he gave me said _'You know perfectly well what happened'_.

"Really? I had no idea!"

"You learn something new every day."

"So…where does this lead to?" I asked after a moment.

"You'll see soon enough."

"Why are you so mysterious all of a sudden?"

"Mysterious? Nah, I'm just being secretive."

I sighed in exasperation. "Same difference."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he pushed aside my response as we came to the end. There was a wooden ladder that allowed you access to a trapdoor.

"Your curiosity will be no more in just a moment. Just be patient."

"I hate it when people tell me that."

"One other thing we have in common," he said as he climbed the ladder. He looked back down at me when he was a few feet from the top. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot…we're eighteen and not in Hogwarts anymore."

"Do you really think we look that old? We're _thirteen_. Who exactly is that going to fool?"

"We both look older than we are, no insult intended. Nothing's wrong with that…you'll fool everyone."

"Keep talking Black. You're putting yourself in a deeper hole."

He shut-up. "Just trust me."

"That's a scary thought." I followed him up the ladder and through the trapdoor into a…candy store?

Sirius quietly shut the door and turned to me. "Welcome to Hogsmeade. My name is Sirius Black and I'll be your tour guide for today."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I don't really have much to say for this chapter, unfortunately. I'm not sure it's one of my favorite chapters…but some of my favorite sayings are in here. I love Sirius and Nike's sense of humor…don't you?**

**Also, to Can't Hide From Insanity…do you still like Doughboy? Great idea, Twin. I love it! (If you don't get the whole Doughboy thing, well I don't get it either, so you'll have to ask her…)**

**Next chapter: Nike's outta here!**

**Let me know what you guys loved, hated, any ideas, what your favorite part/parts of this story is so far, or just anything! **

**Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, puh-lllllleeeeeeaaaasssseeeee?**

**R&R friends!**

**Nike**


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Fifteen

The Fork in the Road

* * *

><p>Many things went through my mind at that moment. The thought that kept repeating itself over and over again was <em>You're free. This is your chance. Run. Now.<em>

"You mean we're…out…of Hogwarts?"

Sirius nodded. "Yep. I know what you're thinking, and that's why I brought you here. Whether you choose to believe it or not, I know how you feel. But can you stay around a little bit longer? At least until I have to go back."

It took a moment for his words to process. "You mean this was your plan all along?"

"Uh-huh."

Surprising us both, I hugged him. "Thanks Sirius! You have no idea how much this means to me."

"It's no problem. Come on, we don't have much time, and I want to show you something, that way if you ever want to stop in, you'll have a good place to travel by." He led us down some aisles that had some pretty weird named and looking sweets. I didn't even want to try some, but Sirius kept commenting on which ones were okay, really good, revolting, and tasteless.

"What _is_ this place?"

"Honeydukes," he replied. His face broke out in a grin when he saw something. He picked it up and read the package out loud.

"'Wolfsbane. Not intended for non-lycanthropes. Warnings: side effects if swallowed by a non-lycanthrope includes howling at the first full moon of the month taken, growing taller, teeth and nails getting sharper, skin getting unhealthily pale, and not getting along with other lycanthropes.' I've got to get this for Remus."

"He'll appreciate that," I agreed.

Sirius picked up three packages, then glanced at me. "You want one? James and I'd have fun with this, although I don't think Remus will care for the joke."

I read the warnings again. "Ah…thanks, but no thanks."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Berty Botts Every Flavor Beans?" I asked. "What's so…um, well, magical about beans?"

Sirius got a mischievous glint in his eye. "They're really jelly beans, a type of candy. Except, unlike the muggles' version, we actually have _every_ flavor." He picked the box up. "You _will_ try these."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

We walked over to a counter that an older lady, about fifty or so, sat behind.

_We're going to get caught,_ I thought. But Sirius seemed so relaxed and confident, I said nothing.

"Good morning Sirius dear," the lady said. "Out of Hogwarts a bit early aren't ya?"

"Hello Maggie. Just the normal trip," Sirius replied, flashing the woman a coy smile.

"Where's James, Remus, and Peter?" Maggie asked.

"Oh, um…busy."

"I should really turn you troublemakers in. You're just lucky I'm fond of you kids." Maggie noticed me, and she frowned a little bit. "Who have we here? You've never brought a girl here before." She squinted, like she was trying to guess on something. "She's a bit old for you ain't she? How old are ya?"

I glanced at Sirius, who was trying not to smile. "Eighteen. I'm a teaching assistant to Professor Mark Weasley with Defense Against the Dark Arts," I lied.

"Are you going to become an Auror? Mark is one of the best. He hasn't mentored anyone in ages." Now that shocked me. I'd been sure Weasley hadn't been one of them. And if he was, then what was he doing at Hogwarts?

But I nodded and continued to play along. "It surprised me too." Which was technically true.

"Whatcha doin with my boy then?" Maggie asked.

"I'm sorry, I hadn't realized he's taken," I replied curtly.

The woman's eyes narrowed and I thought I had gotten myself into an argument we could do without. But thank the gods Sirius cut in.

"She's my cousin."

Maggie withdrew. "Alright then." Sirius gave her some weird looking coins and we walked out of Honeydukes.

I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off.

"Yes Professor Weasley is an Auror. That was the one of conditions for you being at the school. And he figured since he'd be there as long as you would, he might as well fill an empty post."

"But he didn't seem like one! And I didn't recognize…"

"He's an ÆnIml-shifter. He probably worked undercover."

All of a sudden my memories came rushing back. No. It couldn't be…

I stumbled but Sirius caught me. "You okay?" he asked. He looked concerned. I imagine the look on my face was not one he'd expect to see on me.

"No. Not really." Why did I feel betrayed? What did it matter anymore?

"I'm sorry. I thought you knew that. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. He's just one of the best; usually everyone knows who he is." I nodded, pulling it back together. Now was the time for a subject change.

"What was that back there?"

"What was what back where?" I glared and he laughed. "Ooohhh. You mean Maggie? Absolutely nothing."

"Huh. She was telling you that _I'm_ too old for you? _She_ was flirting with you and she's like fifty-somethin! I think she's got me beat in the age limit."

"She's forty-nine and a-half. Why?"

"That's wrong."

"Do I detect a bit of jealousy?"

"Yeah, right. Of what exactly?"

"Denial." He offered me a jelly bean, which I took hesitantly.

"If you say so."

"I do." He was watching me. "Go on, it's not poison. Or dangerous."

"What do I care if something's dangerous? I live for danger."

"Well then what's stopping you from eating a piece of candy?" he shot back. I put it in my mouth, took a bite, and gagged. I spit it out at him, hating that the taste lingered in my mouth.

"That bad?" he asked, smirking, skirting out of the way of the flying object.

"Nice trick. Although for just this time, I don't see what I did to deserve it," I replied.

"What's the flavor?" he asked, looking through the box. I took the box from him, found one that resembled the one I had ate, and shoved it in his mouth. His reaction was the same as mine, except it just nearly missed hitting me. I shoved him over playfully.

"Tastes like puke. Nasty!" He grabbed two pale green ones, swallowed one, and handed the other to me. He sighed. "That's better." He looked over at me and rolled his eyes. "It's a much calmer taste, so lose the look. It's just mint."

I chewed it up and was relieved to find he was right. My mouth was filled with minty freshness.

"See if I ever trust you again," I said.

"Hey! That was completely unintentional! The thing with those, when they say 'every flavor', they really mean it."

"Chill out. I'm only kidding. But seriously, you people have weird tastes."

"Don't leave yourself out. You're one of us."

I looked away from him. "Not exactly." Something up ahead caught my eye. "What's that?"

Up ahead of us was an abandoned old shack that rose probably ten feet into the air and was tilted at a precautious angle. It gave off this haunted feel.

"That, my friend, is none other than the Shrieking Shack. It's the road you'll take to visit us, and the most haunted place in all of London."

"Really?"

"That's what everyone thinks. But the shrieks and howls they hear coming from there are heard only on full moons, coming from someone we well know and love dearly."

"Remus? Then that means…."

"Right. The Whomping Willow is another passageway here. One we use quite often too."

"But then—"

"We think there might've been another werewolf here at some time in the past. Just makes things easier for us." We stood there in silence for awhile, gazing at the place.

"I better get back before they notice we've left. Given your reputation, they won't be surprised."

"Thanks Sirius, again," I said.

He looked sad, but nonetheless, he had his usual cocky smile on. "No problem. It's probably for the best. Besides, I'm sure we'll see you again." He started walking down the hill to the Shrieking Shack, and disappeared.

For the first time in about a month, I was truly alone.

I made my way through Hogsmeade and eventually came to a fork in the road. The sign said that if I went right, I'd be heading to Hogwarts. Left would be where I just came from. Straight and I'd begin my travel home.

But then…where was home?

* * *

><p>"<em>Where is she?"<em>

"Lily, let's not jump to conclusions—"

"Keep quiet Potter!" Lily snapped. "The conclusion is easy to figure out. It wasn't you and it wasn't Remus, so that leaves him."

"What if she's just—"

"She's not here," Tonks cut in. "Remus and I checked."

James shot Remus a glare. "Oh. Well maybe she found a secret passageway and is looking around. There's quite a bit of them around here."

"But you know where they're at. So which one did she take?"

"I know where one is, and it leads to Hogsmeade," Tonks said.

Remus looked down at her, surprised. "Really? Which one?"

"On the fourth floor behind a mirror," she replied.

"We haven't used that one in forever," James said. "Next time you sneak out let us know and we'll—"

"That's enough! Nike's missing and it's all _his_ fault! You were wrong James. He's just like the others in his family!" Lily yelled, getting in Sirius' face.

"Evans! Knock it off!" James snapped, stepping between them. "You've gone too far. Why don't you see that you don't know everything?"

Lily stepped back, a look of hurt crossing her face. "Is that what you think?"

"He's my brother and I _won't_ have you insulting him like that."

"James just quit. You're ruining your chances," Sirius muttered. "She's right. I let her go."

Remus laughed. "That's not very Sirius-like. Where?"

"Why?" Tonks asked. "You've always been so arrogant and selfish. What's she done to you?"

"Hey guys," I said. "Now what are you arguing about now?"

Five shocked faces turned to see me sitting on the ground behind them. Funny how unobservant they are when they're arguing. I mean, we were in a corridor. How could you miss someone just sitting there, even if they were obscured by the shadows?

"What are you doing here?" Sirius demanded, a pissed look replacing his shocked one. Wow. Tough love, huh?

"I thought things through and…this is my home now. You guys are my family, not the animals." I thought about it. "Although some of you are a bunch of animals yourselves, so I'm not missing out on that."

"Whoa, wait. Some of us are confused here," Tonks said.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "The important thing is I've just stopped those two from ripping each other's heads off over nothing."

Tonks grinned. "Aren't you a lifesaver."

I smiled back. "Don't we all know it."

"Were you seriously thinking about leaving us?" Remus asked.

I paused, thinking. "Kinda. My mind is messed up—shut-up Sirius—so it takes me awhile to figure things out—Sirius!—or to open my eyes and see what I have in front of me." I glared at Sirius, who seemed to be enjoying me insulting myself. Switching to the language the werewolves spoke, I said,

"Worry not my friend. It was not your sharp teeth that almost made me run away." Weirdly enough, everyone ignored the fact I had spoke in a different language. They were use to this by now.

He snorted at me and said, "Oh thanks. I was _so_ very worried about that."

Tonks looked at Remus with an amazed look.

"You do have a sense of humor!" Everyone except Lily and James laughed. They were just staring at each other, each of them clearly upset.

I stood up slowly. "It's pretty sad that I'm being the peacekeeper here, but I guess you have to do what you have to."

James cracked a smile, but that was it.

"Alrighty then. Now that the family's back together and showing lots of love, don't you boys have some stuff to do?" I asked, referring to their pranks.

"And it's nothing you can help with," Sirius added. _Oh, nice touch,_ I thought. _Are you _trying_ to start a fight?_

"We could always continue this discussion later if it's that important," Remus said. "Because obviously Nike's jokes aren't lightening the mood."

"Do they ever?" Sirius asked him.

"I think not," James said, smiling. Lily uncrossed her arms and shook her head, the showdown between her and James forgotten. Just leave it to the jokesters to make things better.

"It's nice to know that the one thing that we all love to do is make fun of me," I said. "It makes me feel special."

"Oh, you're special alright," Sirius said.

"Is that why we get along so well? We're a pair of 'special' people?" I fired back.

"She's got you there, Black," Tonks said.

"Thank you. See? I have _somebody_ on my side."

"Since when are we taking sides?" Remus asked.

"I want to know that too," James agreed. "'Cause now I don't know who to choose: you or Sirius?"

"Me," Sirius and I said at the same time.

"That right there proves my point exactly!"

"Come on James," Sirius pleaded. "I'm your best friend!" He turned his puppy-dog eyes on Remus. "Yours too!"

"Ah, but see, you're my brother, not my best friend," James replied. "She's taken that post."

"Ditto," Remus said, grinning.

"So I'm not your sister now?" I pouted.

"You are, but don't tell him that," Remus whispered.

"I, for one, think Nike's better," Lily said, speaking at last.

"Me two," Tonks said, elbowing Remus in the ribs.

Remus grunted and said, "Same, dear." Tonks smiled and rolled her eyes at him. Hmm…I don't think Tonks hated Remus anymore.

Sirius glared at him, seeing this also, and then glanced at James, who was smiling playfully.

"I'll follow along with the rest of the pack," he said. "After all, Nike always claims victory, that's why she was named after the goddess of victory, right?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Tonks said.

"It's nice to know that I'm loved," Sirius muttered.

I put a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic look. "Aw, it's nothing like that, sweetie. You _are_ loved. I'm just loved more."

"I feel _so_ much better," he said sarcastically.

"That was my goal."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, I said Nike was outta here, and she isn't, but it wasn't an entire lie! She **_**did **_**leave Hogwarts when she wasn't supposed to! Umm…again, I don't have much to say for this chapter. I have absolutely NO idea why I am so short on my wonderful talking ability for the past two chapters… (No comment or else Nike'll be after you!) Oh, yeah, Weasley. That's all I have to say. Refresh your memory some about him before you read the next chapter, okay? And chapter 12, if you will…**

**Expect a mental breakdown from Nike next chapter! Who will she run to? (Of course, that's not all that the next chapter's about…but I can't tell you **_**everything **_**and spoil it, now could I?) **

**What did you think? How 'bout letting me know through a review? Hmm? Wonderful concept, isn't it? Quite easy to do, if I may so say myself.**

**Also, my readers, either PM me or let me know in a review…**_what do you think Nike's wand should look like?_** I, of course, have an idea, but I'd like to have you guys interact with this story a lil bit, so you'll have to expect more questions later on that I'll absolutely NEED you to answer! Like, for example, this one here. So, with that, I'm done talking.**

**Nike**


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**A/N: Oh good lord, I am SOOO sorry you guys! I've just been so busy every night of the week and when I WOULD have time I would mysteriously get into "trouble". But, sadly, I received no reviews in my absence, but because it's been basically a year, I'll put up two chapters. But I NEED reviews you guys. Please. And, again, I'm so sorry this is WAY late. Hopefully you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Sixteen

Diagon Alley: Where the Truth Comes Out

* * *

><p>After I left the Marauders, Lily, and Tonks, I ran to the Ravenclaw dormitory. The only reason I knew it was their dormitory was because there was a huge raven statue, and when I stood to look at it, it spoke in a voice that sounded like stone sliding on stone,<p>

"You throw away the outside and cook the inside; then you eat the outside and then throw away the inside. What did you eat?"

"What?"I asked it sharply. What kind of password was this?

"You throw away the outside—"

"Yes! I _heard_ you! I don't know what you mean," I told the statue, exasperated.

"Answer the riddle," it said. Oh. So the Ravenclaws had to answer a riddle to get into their dorms. Go figure. Curse their overly smart brains.

So I thought and thought and thought and thought, but the more I thought about it, the more confused I became. So I sat in front of it, staring it down, continuing my deep thinking.

The statue just stood there, its stone eyes staring at me with patience.

"Nike?" a careful voice asked from behind me. I turned and saw a thin, sandy-haired boy with freckles that dotted the top of his nose and underneath his eyes. He had brown eyes and was average height for a guy of about fifteen. I'd never seen him before.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I, um, need to talk to someone," I said, making me seem even less smart than I was. I was _great _at making a fool of myself in front of Ravenclaws.

He grinned. "You can't figure out the answer?"

"Obviously not."

"Think about it. From what I've heard about you, you're pretty smart."

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Austin Cargile."

"I don't know many people from other Houses," I apologized.

"You will. Just wait 'til Quidditch starts."

"Do you play?" I asked, my interest rising.

"Sadly, no. I'm not very good. However I'm rather good at helping the team captain out whenever he needs me." The mention of Gary brought me back to why I was here. I turned my attention back to the raven. It repeated the riddle.

"Why is this so complicated?" I asked furiously.

"I can't give you the password, but I can help you figure it out," Austin offered.

"Can't or won't?" I questioned.

"Both," he said, grinning.

"Okay. Help me then."

"Okay then. To eat it, you've got to throw away the outside first, got it?"

"Yeah."

"Then you eat the outside after that's done, but after you're done with the outside, you've got to throw away the inside, because like the outer-outside, it's no good to eat." I gave it some serious thought, and then I thought of something.

"An ear of corn?"

Austin grinned widely, but the statue answered by moving up in the air, revealing the passageway into their common room.

"Either that or a chicken," Austin commented.

"A chicken?"

"You have to take the feathers off, then you eat the meat, but you don't eat the bone."

"Oh."

"After you," he said, bowing to me.

"What a nice young man," I said sweetly, smiling crookedly. He smirked and then followed me into their common room.

Their common room was quite different from ours. It, too, had a huge common room, but theirs was filled from floor to ceiling with huge bookshelves overstuffed with books. There were tons of tables spread out here and there, meant for homework or whatever else the brainiacs did in their spare time. There were some comfortable couches and chairs and such, but they were colored a dark blue and black, where-as ours were maroon and gold. There was a hallway on the left that had a statue of this woman that, although I didn't know how I knew, was the Ravenclaw's founder.

She was a small woman that had long, dark, flowing hair, beautiful dark round eyes, and she wore a long dress that fit her perfectly. The hallway on the right just had a stone bookshelf with, of course, stone books covering every surface. It was close to curfew, therefore there was close to all of the occupants of the House in the common room, all giving me weird looks.

"Come on," Austin murmured, putting a hand on my shoulder and guiding me towards the hallway with the stone bookcase. I tore my eyes away from all the Ravenclaws and glanced at Austin, and then at the stone bookcase. A book flew off the shelf and opened itself in front of us, allowing us to read what it said.

"'_I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky; I can swim in the ocean, and yet remain dry.'"_ I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

Austin took out a quill and wrote quickly, trying unsuccessfully to hide the answer from me.

_A shadow._

The book flew back onto the shelf and the shelf slid to the right, revealing yet another lit passageway. Austin led the way, and I soon saw that the passageway was lined with doors. He stopped in front the very last door at the end of the hallway on the left.

"No sooner spoken then broken," Austin said to the door.

"Oh that's easy," I scoffed. "It's a secret. Or silence."

"Secret. Silence," the door mirrored me softly, so no one else could hear.

Austin opened the door and I stepped inside. It was a room similar to the Marauders, except it had more, you guessed it, bookshelves. But that was the only difference. This room too had Quidditch stuff all over the walls, as well as some personal pictures on bedside tables.

I looked over at one of the tables and saw a familiar figure sitting there, bent over a piece of parchment, doing work.

"'Ey mate, you got company," Austin said into the silence.

Gary looked up from his work and looked at Austin confused, and then he saw me and gave me a small smile.

"Hey Keep." He looked at me closer. "Is everything alright?"

I glanced at Austin, and then back at Gary. Austin and Gary both seemed to get the message.

"I'll be right back," Austin said. "I've got to go grab something out of the common room. See ya in a bit." And with that he left the room, leaving me and Gary alone.

"You trust him, don't you?" I asked.

Gary pulled out a chair and gestured for me to sit down, looking at me with a concerned look. Strange how we'd just recently become friends, yet he was there for me already. None of my friendships had yet formed this fast and been so secure. Here I'd been thinking it'd take awhile to become close. Yet, here I was, telling him everything that I hadn't yet dared breathe a word to Lily, Tonks, or the Marauders.

"Yeah. He's my best mate since first year. He's completely loyal. He reminds me of you, actually. He was orphaned too. He lives with me."

"Practically brothers, huh?"

"I'd trust him with my life."

I nodded slowly, sitting in the seat next to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It was Weasley."

"What?"

"It was Weasley who betrayed me. He turned into Xylekaon. He's an Auror and an ÆnIml-shifter. He…I've trusted him so far, and it was all _him _that brought this upon me!" I glared up at the ceiling, kicking myself for ever getting close to the professor.

"Is it really as bad as it was before?" he asked carefully.

"Yes! No… I don't know!" I yelled. "It's not bad being here…but it is bad that he could so easily lie to me like that! He…I knew he was good! How could I have been wrong?"

"You weren't wrong. He is good."

"How do you know?"

"Nike…I've known Mark forever, his parents are friends with my dad and step-mum. I think you should talk to him about it before you jump to conclusions."

"You know something I don't," I said, reading him easily.

"What happened happened for the best, Nike," he said softly. "You won't understand that for quite awhile, but you'll understand soon."

Strangely enough, I felt better.

"Thanks Gary."

"No problem. You can come to me anytime."

"Good night."

"Good night and good luck tomorrow." I looked at him questioningly, wondering how he knew about me leaving to go get a wand, but he just smiled mischievously and turned back to his work.

* * *

><p>"The sooner you change Mr. Malfoy back, the sooner you may leave," Professor McGonagall said the next day. "Maybe a day out of Hogwarts will do you some good."<p>

"It isn't good for your mental health to be locked up in all this madness," I agreed.

She raised her eyes to the ceiling and said, "You have a way with words."

"Yes ma'am. Yes I do."

"Do I even have to tell you to corporate with Professor Weasley?"

"No."

"I trust you two can keep the other in line."

"Sure."

"Good."

Just then the headmaster walked in carrying a baby Malfoy with Weasley right behind them.

Professor Vera set Malfoy on the table and turned to me. "Change him now."

"Sorry, but last time I checked, you were on diaper duty."

He just glared, his face turning red and his hand itching for his wand.

"But then you wouldn't know how to change a diaper now would you 'cause that's way too much for your brain to handle. Also, you're _so _inexperienced on how to handle a child, seeing as you're unfit to even be in a family, let alone be a father."

"Nike, that's enough," Professor McGonagall murmured.

"You know what's wrong with you people? You don't appreciate the good things in life, like this right here," I continued my rant at the headmaster.

He stepped forward until he was directly in front of me. Deepening his voice, he said quietly but clearly,

"I don't know who or what you are, or what your problem is, but you don't have _everyone_ fooled like you think you do. Your charm isn't invincible. Watch your back, because I swear if you mess up one more time, your life here is going to be miserable."

I smiled even though I knew he was completely serious. "Good luck with that. My life already is a living hell when you're in it." I winked at him and then added as an after-thought, "Oh, and by the way, I have absolutely no charm and haven't fooled anyone, not even the stupidest person alive."

He glared and was probably about to curse me when Weasley stepped forward.

"Do we have a problem Headmaster? Surely the boy should be back to normal by now." The headmaster backed off but the look he gave me said _"We're not done here."_

I glanced at Malfoy and pictured him as his normal self in my head and thought, _Turn back into your usual idiotic self._ The baby Malfoy turned into the teenage Malfoy, who looked like he was ready to throw another temper-tantrum and start bawling his eyes out.

"Get her away from me!" he wailed, scooting back along the desk, which apparently wasn't there any longer because he fell to the floor with a loud crash, landing in a heap on the floor.

"Take her now Mark," Professor McGonagall said quietly.

Weasley offered me his hand and I laughed (probably sounding mad).

"You _honestly_ think I'm going to Apparate with you again? You're completely mental!"

Weasley smiled and took my hand anyways. "Thank you," he said, and we disappeared.

This time I had enough sense to not let go. The trip wasn't as nauseating, but it was still a bit odd.

"I think I'm getting better at this," I said after we landed.

"Just wait until you're seventeen and you can do this on your own," he agreed. He gestured around us. "This is Diagon Alley, the place where every witch and wizard gets their things for their day to day activities."

I looked around, seeing different shaped and sized stores attached to each other going on down the street. The street was made of cobblestone and dirt. It was a nice homely place, you could say. There weren't too awfully many people, and the select few I did see were all adults.

"Is there a shop for Auror supplies?" I asked crisply, regaining my bad mood towards him.

"No, we don't really need much, and the stuff we do comes from…" he trailed off, looking at me closely. "How did you know?"

"It's not that hard, considering you're pretty popular among these people. Tell me, what's your favorite form? A cat? A bear? Oh! I know! How 'bout a lyger?"

"Nike—"

"What's wrong with you people? Do you not have any decency? Do you _practice_ betrayal?"

"No! It's not like that!"

"Then why did you become my best friend, mind you, the _only_ friend I'd ever had, and betray me like that?"

"It was my—"

"How long were you Xylekaon?"

"About a month," Weasley said quietly.

"Then you should know he was the only one I ever trusted! When he–you–betrayed me to the _Ministry_ of all things, how do you think that made me feel? What do you think that did to me?" It was nice to get the truth, anger, and hurt out. Sure, my talk with Gary had been enough to calm me for the night, but it was nothing compared to this closure.

"I'm sorry Nike. I truly am. But I was only doing my job."

"Some things are more important than that! Why would you even listen to the Minister? He was a Death Eater! With Voldemort coming back—" Weasley shoved me against one of the walls and covered my mouth with his hand.

"I understand that you're angry. You have every right to be. But you _can't_ go around talking about Voldemort openly. Not now." I just glared at him. He moved his hand and leaned against the wall next to me. "The Minister…it wasn't exactly him."

"What do you mean?"

"Luna, Professor Lovegood, she contacted me. She's stayed in touch with her old friends' families, even after they all died. She saw you and told me I had to bring you to Hogwarts. She told me what I needed to know, but she didn't tell me everything she'd seen. Eventually the Minister caught word of what I'd been up to, and after he learned Luna had sent me, he sent the other Aurors to search their way while I searched mine. Luna Lovegood is the most respected woman in our world right now; no one questions her."

I was quiet for a minute, thinking. "So this is all Luna's fault?"

"You would say that. But you're happy here now." It wasn't a question.

"How can you be sure of that?"

"I'm sure you know how to escape by now."

"You're referring to the guys."

"Yeah. Why the change of heart? Surely it's not warming up some?"

"I've found friends. Human friends."

"So you trust people now?"

"I _did_ trust you. A lot."

He looked away, ashamed. "Hopefully I can earn it back."

"You're not like the others, Weasley," I said finally. I knew he knew by 'others' I was referring to the Aurors.

"My family's different from the others'. And most of my kind are…"

"More thoughtful? The good ones at least." I offered.

"You know a great deal about shape-shifters. You're one of the brightest students I have." He glanced at me quizzically. "Did you know that shape-shifters can sense others of their kind?"

"I had guessed."

"I've been thinking ever since I met you…are you one? I get the same feeling when I'm around you as when I'm around other 'shifters, but you're…different. Unlike the other groups."

"What's that mean?"

"I'm certain that you are a 'shifter, just not sure what kind." He shook his head. "Anyways, we should probably get going."

Eventually we came to this normal sized building that had a sign that read: _Ollivanders_. Inside it was dark; the only light came from a small lamp on a desk. Rows and rows of shelves filled the whole room, stretching from floor to ceiling, and each shelf was filled with long rectangular boxes. You had to watch your footing because there was barely any part of the floor that wasn't covered. The shop was also completely empty.

"Mr. Ollivander?" Weasley called into the silence.

There was no answer.

"Mr. Ollivander?" Weasley tried again.

"I'm right here," said a voice from behind us, making Weasley jump. "No need to yell. I'm not deaf. Yet," he added as an afterthought.

I turned around and there stood the oldest man I'd ever seen. He was small and had thinning white hair that stuck up at odd angles, as if he had just been electrocuted. I couldn't see any possible way that he could sneak up on us like that, surprising us.

"Well? What can I do for you today Mark?" the man asked.

"This is Nike—"

"Ah. The _special_ case." Mr. Ollivander was nodding.

"Why does everyone keep referring to me as 'special'? I'm going to start feeling insulted," I said in exasperation. But no one seemed to hear me.

"She—"

"Yes, I know. No need to explain. One look at her and I could tell."

"Umm…should I be offended by that?" I asked, louder than I was before.

The old man laughed. "Not at all. It's a good thing. Very good. Come this way." He walked over to one of the thousands of shelves and took his wand out, said some words, and a box flew into his hands. He opened it and held it out to me. I picked up the short, plain, light brown wand and waited.

The two men just stared at me.

"So, now what?"

"Point it at that vase and flick it," Mr. Ollivander said calmly. He must've got this reaction more than once.

I did as he said (feeling foolish) and nothing happened. He clucked his tongue and disappeared.

"What's supposed to happen?" I asked.

"If I told you," came his voice, "we'd never know which wand truly belongs to you." He reappeared with another one, which was really long and the color was kind of a mix between red and dark brown, which had swirl designs going around it.

I took it, and as before, nothing happened.

And so began the hour process of me trying wand after wand after wand. This went on for about an hour and thirty minutes before Mr. Ollivander stood in front of us, hands on his hips, frustrated.

"I've had thousands, maybe even millions, no, probably _billions_, of witches and wizards here in my time, and you are the most difficult of all."

"Wouldn't want to be anything else," I said, trying to lighten his mood. He was taking this way too seriously it seemed. Maybe that was his job.

"Which is good on some occasions, but not at this moment. At the rate this is going, we'll be here for a day or two. I don't know what to do to make this quicker and easier."

"She's good in my class, Transfiguration, Potions, Divination, Adda's cla—" Weasley started to say.

"If you had said 'Every single subject' that would suffice," Mr. Ollivander replied. "Let me think…that eliminates, oh, about…thirty-three wands not including the ones we just tried."

"We're getting somewhere!" I said sarcastically.

Mr. Ollivander smiled. "Lovely, isn't it?"

"Very much so."

"I'm no expert…" Weasley said. "…but can she try and find it herself?"

Brightening up some, Mr. Ollivander seemed lost in his thoughts, musing aloud. "I suppose the odd way would work for the odd one…"

"Now I'm odd?" I asked Weasley. "Looks like I'm learning a whole bunch about myself today."

"That's good. You need to expand that tiny brain of yours," he replied.

"Not everyone loves a big brain," I shot back.

"Yeah, well not everyone loves a small brain," he protested.

"Well maybe I do."

"Is it because that's the size of Sirius'?"

"Yeah, his is quite—hey!"

"Oh so that's the reason huh?"

"Not you too! This is happening _way_ too much today!"

"I'm not the first huh? Maybe you two should take the hint."

"You are _not_ lecturing me about guys, are you Weasley?"

"Someone has to do it, and I'm that one because it seems no one else is stupid enough to attempt it."

"Except Sirius himself."

"Of course. No one is as dim-witted as Sirius Black."

"I agree with you for once."

"What about Gary? I've seen you two together when you're not with Lily, Tonks, or the others. I've watched you two practice Quidditch, as well has Adda. She agrees you two are a good match, in more ways than one."

"Gary?"

"Ooo first name basis now! You're getting somewhere!" I punched him for that and he laughed.

I rolled my eyes but answered anyways. "He's…I don't know. Way different then Sirius. Nicer, sweeter, understanding. He's a good guy."

"So which one is it?"

"Weasley, I _really _don't want to talk about guys. Especially not with my father figure."

"Aw thanks Nik. I'm glad you see me as that."

"Do you and Adda have any kids?"

Weasley reddened some. "No. She's only nineteen. I'm twenty. We got married when she got out of Hogwarts."

"Oh. It looks like it's been longer. Even though you two look the age you are."

"So now _you _are talking to me about _my_ love life?" Weasley teased.

"Trade for a trade."

"I suppose that's only fair."

"Well come on! Snip snip! Hurry up! I'm anxious here!" Mr. Ollivander cut in.

"Oh alright! Be patient," I said. "Actually, forget I said that. I know I hate being told to be patient, so who am I to tell others to do the same?" Before I set off on my search, I turned and walked backwards, pointing to Weasley and telling him, "This discussion: it's not over."

"I didn't expect it to be," he replied with a smile.

I rolled my eyes and then walked off down one of the narrow aisles between two of the shelves. I didn't know what to look for exactly, but I didn't want to seem even more clueless, so I just kept my mind open and walked aimlessly. By the time I had walked past all the shelves on the downstairs level, I was getting impatient. This was going to take all year.

Spotting a tiny cupboard cleverly hidden behind one smaller shelf, I felt drawn to it. I had to go inside, just to see what was there. Using all my strength, I pushed the shelf aside without knocking anything over and tried to open the door.

It was locked.

I sighed and blew a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. Let's see…how was I going to get in there? _Magic, you idiot,_ I thought. Right. I had forgotten. Oh Merlin. I was turning into Sirius.

I placed my hand on the doorknob and muttered, "Open." Immediately I heard the door click and it swung forward slowly, creaking quietly. I stepped inside cautiously and looked around. Dust covered the floors, walls, bookshelves, and one single table located on the far wall. Curious, I walked towards it and found there was a single black box on it that had a cross with a loop at the top engraved in dark blue on the center on the lid. I pulled back the lid carefully and peeked inside, finding a dark blue wand that had flames carved in black all along it. The wand seemed about ten and a half inches long, and when I picked it up, it felt nice and sturdy in my hand, making me feel more powerful. As soon as it made contact with my skin I felt this warm, glowing feeling. I could've sworn both the wand and I were radiating light.

_If this wand isn't mine, then I don't know which other one could be, _I thought to myself in wonder. I stuck the box in the pockets on the inside of my robes and walked back to Weasley and Mr. Ollivander after I had recovered the door.

"Found one," I said, holding it out for them to see.

"Very nice," Weasley said, observing it.

Mr. Ollivander just stood there and stared at it, as if he were confused.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Nothing… It's just…I don't recall ever seeing this one before. Never in my long life have I seen anything like it."

"Sorry?"

"May I?" He reached attentively for my wand, his hand shaking. Shrugging, I handed it over. "It's…very ancient. Dating back to…well, the beginning of our time. Where did you find this?"

"In a secret room behind a smaller shelf."

Mr. Ollivander was shaking his head by the time I said the word _secret_. "There are no secret compartments. I've been all over this shop, and there's nothing like that here."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure my dear. But nonetheless, if it chose you, it is yours." Weasley tried to give Mr. Ollivander the coins that the Minster had given him, but he wouldn't take them. "No. Not this time Mark. It's on me."

"Thank you Mr. Ollivander," Weasley said, not looking sure.

"Good-bye!" I called over my shoulder as we walked out the door.

"Good-bye Nike! I hope to see you again!" he replied. I smiled to myself. I was quite fond of the old man. I hoped I'd see him again, too.

"Well, that took longer than I had hoped," Weasley said as we started down the street again. "Hopefully you'll find a broom quicker than you found your wand."

"It's not my fault I'm difficult."

"I suppose not. But it's almost dark, so we've got to get back to the school soon."

"Weasley, do you know anything about Quidditch?"

"My wife is a Quidditch fanatic and used to be a Seeker for Gryffindor, and is now the ref. I used to be a Beater for Gryffindor too, so I'd say I know a little. Actually, I was wanted on one of the professional teams, as was Adda."

"Really? Why didn't you and Adda?"

"I know you won't like my answer, but my goal was to become an Auror. I wanted to help out as best as I could. For her it was the same."

"Adda's an Auror?"

"Yeah. She's been one since the end of her seventh year."

I frowned. Maybe they were both there because of me. "Oh. Anyways, why don't you pick out my broom? I don't have the slightest clue about any of this stuff except for the things the team has explained to me."

"Sure." He hesitated. "Do you know what the true job of an Auror is?"

"They follow the orders of the Minister, and in this case, that's a bad thing."

"Not really. It's our job to capture the evil witches and wizards and the Death Eaters and bring them to Azkaban. Some of us work undercover, but every Auror has to be able to think like the ones we go after. That's usually why we're not trusted and feared. It's one of the hardest jobs to get, and there's not that many of us. There's only thirteen at the moment, and," He lowered his voice as we passed a couple. "With Voldemort returning, we're going to need more help. Sure, we may listen to the Minister every once and awhile, but it's not our _job_ to. He normally doesn't even control us. Truthfully Nike, you may think we Aurors are evil and cruel, and part of us are because of what our job demands from us, but we care just as much as any normal person."

"Why were all the other Aurors sent after me too?"

"The Minister…tweaked…the story some. He said you were a Death Eater who was a Persone-shifter, and that you were highly dangerous. It took me some time to explain to my comrades that that wasn't the case. And of course it was me, their head Auror they believed, not the Minister."

"_You're_ the head Auror? I thought Dubois was!"

"No. I am."

"Oh. So I guess you think I owe you Aurors an apology?"

"No, you don't. I'm just glad you think of us differently than before."

"Weasley?"

"Yes?"

"One of the Aurors at the meeting said that I might become one of you one day."

"You _do_ have great potential."

"I've heard all that before. But is that it?"

"No and yes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No, that's not it, but yes, it's it for your ears for now."

"I'm so happy we're being truthful and straightforward with each other," I said sarcastically.

"As am I," he replied, smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I loved this chapter! More-so, the part when they went to Diagon Alley then the beginning. I love writing when Weasley is involved…he's one of my favorites. Not to mention you get more information on him and Adda, as well as the Aurors. He also brings out a different side to Nike. I think of him as her parental figure. Do you?**

**Yes, I realize that Mr. Ollivander paid for Nike's wand when the Minister said **_**he himself **_**would, but that just means Weasley gets to keep his money (hahahahahaha!), so lucky him. **

**I loved the riddles, by the way. I mean, when I first heard them, I don't think I figured them out so fast. I'm quite good at such things, but, I'm sad to say, my reaction was the same as Nike's for both of the riddles. Did you know the answers? Or were you like her? (It's okay, don't be ashamed…you can admit it if you didn't do too well…) I also have tons more that I thought were both easier and definitely a lot harder for future references. I can't wait.**

**Let's see…what else? Hmm…well, Nike's lightened up her attitude towards the Aurors now, and let's just say they will become more frequent characters in this story later on. At least, Add and Weasley in their roles as Aurors will be.**

**Next chapter: Oh, how do I say this without giving anything away? **

**Poor Padfoot and Prongs…**

**R&R please!**

**Nike**


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Seventeen

James and Sirius: Twin Sisters

* * *

><p>James, so far, was very impressed with our team and the progress we'd been making over just several practices. He'd keep saying that we were the best team in this school, and he encouraged us to do our best always.<p>

Of course, James himself loved to show off during practice when Lily came to watch, and he'd brag nonstop. Annoyed with it after the first three practices, I'd asked Lily to not show up that much. Thankfully, she'd agreed, and it hadn't taken much begging. James always ticked her off with that crap of his.

But that didn't stop her from teasing James at any other time, saying she'd been allowed by both Hufflepuff's team captain (a sixth year guy who seemed to be fond of Lily) and Gary to watch their practices, and that we didn't stand a chance. James got extremely mad at the fact that she'd been watching the "enemies'" practices instead of her House's and that she could think of us so lowly. Sirius, Remus, and I all thought he was mainly jealous, which we'd used to our advantage (pranks are so much fun, might I add…).

But nonetheless, I still didn't dare tell any of the Marauders (aside from Remus who thought it was great I was socializing with others outside our little group) about my time spent with Gary. They (meaning James and Sirius) would get pissed, I knew.

Today, we'd see who was right: James or Lily. It was October now, meaning time for the games to start. Today was the first Quidditch game of the year, and it was Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor.

"Where's James, Remus, and Sirius?" Tonks asked as we were walking down the stairs to the Common Room. The match started in about an hour.

"What time is it?" I asked.

Lily looked at her watch. "Seven forty-eight."

"Figures. I'll catch you guys in the Great Hall, okay? I didn't know I had to mother those three." Tonks and Lily laughed.

"Good luck getting them up," Tonks said.

"Thanks. I'll need it." I jogged back up the stairs and stopped in front of the Marauders' door, wondering if I should knock or not. Figuring they wouldn't hear me anyways, I went on in.

It was completely dark; the curtains let in absolutely no light at all. I heard four people snoring (one extremely loud), so I knew they were all here. I stepped forward and hit my shin against something. It whimpered and let out an even louder snore (if possible). Looking down, I saw Peter lounged out on the floor. Sighing, I stepped over him and stood over someone. I checked to make sure it was him, and then tipped his mattress over, with him still on it. There was a big crash and James and Remus sat up quickly, looking around. Peter yelled out and there was another crash, probably him running into something.

"Ow! What the hell just happened?" Sirius demanded, his voice muffled. I stifled a laugh, sitting down soundlessly on his bed so I could see them. It worked. "Prongs! Did you…"

"Don't blame me, mate. I just woke up," James said in a startled voice.

"Moon—"

"I thought it was Peter sleep walking again," Remus said equally startled, looking around slowly for any sign of an intruder.

"We all know Wormtail didn't do it. You must've just rolled over or something," James said.

"Oh yeah, because I always roll off my bed and take the whole damn mattress with me," Sirius grumbled, standing up, rubbing his head. He picked up the mattress and turned to put it back on the bed, and jumped, yelling, "Oh gods!" He stumbled over the bedside table and fell on top of James, who yelled out,

"Shit Padfoot! Get the hell off me!"

"_Now_ what is it Padfoot?" Remus asked, stretching.

"Nike!"

"What?" James and Remus said at the same time. I grinned.

"She—"

"Man, don't tell me you dreamed about her again," James said.

"He dreams about me? Is that a good or bad thing?" I asked. They both jumped and Peter started screaming shrilly. "Is that really necessary Wormtail?" I asked, looking over at the closet he'd just hidden in.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius demanded.

"Padfoot! Be nice!" Remus said. "She didn't do anything."

"Except shove me out of my bed and wake me up before eight."

James grinned. "Nice. See? I always knew I respected you."

Sirius stood up and looked down at me. "Can I ask why you did that?"

"It's time to get up."

"Says who?"

"Me, of course."

He sat down next to me and glanced at James and Remus. "Why does it seem like she's in charge of us?"

"Umm…maybe because she is," Remus said.

"Not of me," Sirius muttered. To prove his point, he laid back down and fell back asleep.

"Jerk," I said.

"Thank you," he mumbled in his sleep.

Remus and James laughed. "Good luck getting him up until he wants to," James said, standing up and stretching.

"We've never succeed," Remus added. "Hey, are you in your Quidditch robes?"

"Yeah. That's why I woke you guys up. The match is in forty-five minutes."

"I hate it when we have games so early in the morning on a weekend," James complained, getting his Quidditch stuff.

"Obviously so does he."

James snorted. "Sometimes you could swear me and him are twins."

"I've thought that before. Have you Moony?"

Remus smiled at me. "When do I not?"

"Let's see…how to get a Sirius out of bed…"

"Yeah, he's not gonna believe it. You're sitting on his bed next to him, and he's asleep." James was grinning.

"Do I even want to know? You weren't kidding when you said I'm in his dreams, were you?"

"Nope. Isn't he in yours?"

James and Remus laughed. Apparently my expression gave them the answer.

"Well, not exactly. You all are in them…just not the way you think."

"Lighten up some Nik. We don't mean anything. Remus and I have had dreams with you in them too. We just tease Padfoot because he had one dream about you, and it wasn't a good one. You were actually saving him from his—" James stopped.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Remus?"

"His family," Remus said. "Anyways, how are you going to…"

"I think I'll throw him out the window."

James and Remus just stared at me.

"What? You don't think I will?"

Silence.

"Fine. I'll prove it." I got my wand out of my robes and pointed it at Sirius and said, "Wingardium Leviosa." I swished the wand, and then flicked it, and Sirius rose into the air. I walked over to the window and opened it. As soon as the cool air of outside hit his face, Sirius snapped awake.

"What's going on here?" He opened his eyes, and panicked. "Prongs! Moony!" he yelled. "Help me!"

I stuck my head out the window and grinned. "Morning sleepy head. Rise and shine, it's a beautiful day outside."

He glared at me. "Put. Me. Down. _Now_."

I shrugged. "If you wish. But, may I say, that's a long drop."

"_In_side."

"Are you going to stay awake?"

"Probably not."

"Well since you're being honest with me, I'll be honest with you. You fall back asleep; I'll let you fall to your death without a second thought on it."

"I don't doubt that."

"Is sleep really worth it?"

"I guess not."

"That's what I thought."

"Put me down Nike. _Please_?"

"Oh, alright. But only since you asked so nicely." I put him back inside and closed the window.

"You're a crazed lunatic, you know that, right?" Sirius asked.

"Yep. I sure am."

"Good. That's another thing I like about you though." He smiled, and then glared at James when he snickered.

"She isn't going to be your alarm _every_ morning, is she Padfoot?" Remus asked, his voice sounding _too_ innocent.

Sirius rolled his eyes at his friends. "I didn't plan this. Ask her."

They looked at me, eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Definitely. This is the highlight of my day." They started to laugh while Sirius sighed.

"Great. That means I have to get used to you," he muttered.

"Not possible Padfoot," I said as I walked to the door. I stepped outside, and then looked back at the three. "If you're not sitting next to me in the Great Hall in five minutes, I'm hurting you. All of you." James, Remus, and Sirius nodded quickly while Peter started screaming again. "Except for Wormtail, of course. He's excused."

I walked away to the sound of laughing and Peter's muttered "Thank you! Thank you!"

* * *

><p>The Marauders were literately in the Great Hall and sitting right beside me just five minutes afterwards. I'd filled Lily and Tonks in, and they were getting a kick out of it. No doubt they couldn't wait to tease them about it.<p>

"Sirius," Lily started. "You poor soul. That mean Nike likes to use your fear of heights against you."

"Ha-ha Evans," Sirius grumbled.

"And how dare she disturb your slumber!" Tonks said. "It's just plain cruel to wake a man up before eight!"

"But then…we aren't dealing with a man, are we?" Lily asked Tonks.

Tonks looked Sirius over. "Nope. We're dealing with a sorry little child."

James and Remus laughed while Sirius punched me lightly.

"You get a kick out of bullying helpless little kids, don't you?" he asked me.

"Only if their name is Sirius Black," I replied.

"Ah, but my name isn't _just_ Sirius Black," he argued. "It's Sirius _Orion_ Bla—" he stopped.

"Uh-oh! The secret's out!" James exclaimed.

"The mystery has been solved!" Remus agreed.

"Sirius has finally revealed his middle name!" they said together.

"I'm gonna start calling you Orion," Tonks said. "Or…SOB." Everyone laughed except for Sirius.

"I hate you, you know that?" Sirius told me. "Somehow I end up telling you everything."

"_Every_thing?" Tonks asked.

"Really?" Lily asked. "What have you _done _to this Son Of a Bitch, Nik?" Everyone at the table laughed.

"Oh I'm telling!" he said in a higher-pitched voice. "Teacher! Teacher! The perfect Lily Evans just cussed at me!"

"Shut-up and stuff your face," Tonks said.

"Oh, wow," I said, turning back to my breakfast. It was quiet for a minute while everyone ate. Actually, Sirius was just staring at the wall grumpily and James was picking at his food, not eating any of it.

"Nike," Tonks said in a tattle-tail tone. "I think you have to mother them again."

"Eat," I said. "There's nothing to be nervous about James. You said it yourself: we've got the game in 'Merlin's purse'." I glanced at Peter, who blushed and hid his face. "And Sirius, you'll eat or after the game I'll find a way for you to take a Bludger to the head." I looked at Remus, who was eating with an amused look in his eyes. "Good boy Remus," I said.

"I try," Remus replied. Sirius and James exchanged glances, and then started to eat.

"That's better."

* * *

><p>"Nervous?" Derek asked me as we stood under a shade part of a building. Crowds were cheering and chanting for the House they wanted to win. To say the least, Quidditch was a pretty big deal at Hogwarts.<p>

"Not at all," I said, looking around. Clearly they all were nervous, even though James was trying to look cool and collected. I shifted the hat-type-thing that was on my head. I hated the damn thing. At the first practice I'd put up a fight against wearing it, but in the end Remus had frozen me with a spell and put it on me. Ever since then I wore it, not wanting to go against Remus again when he had his wand. That boy knew a lot of spells. Besides, he'd said that I either wore it and get take a Bludger to the head and just get knocked out, or I'd not wear it and take a Bludger to the head and die. Hence why I now wore it.

"She's insane," Sirius said from behind me. "She's not at all normal like the rest of us."

Derek's eyes narrowed. "Of course you'd know that."

"Yeah, I would." Sirius had a bad habit of always interrupting any conversation that I had with Derek, which always caused them to argue.

"Get along you two," I snapped. "We need to be a team today. Do you understand?"

Both of them looked at me and muttered, "Yes."

"Okay you guys!" James said loudly. "It's time. Play your best. Don't shame Gryffindor, bring pride to it. Let's go." We all picked up our brooms and walked out of there and onto the Quidditch field and came face to face with the other team. Their team captain, a fifth year boy named Almaert Finlay, stepped forward and shook hands with James. Adda stood next to them with one hand on her hip and the other on her broom, with one foot planted firmly on a brown box that was vibrating violently. And, as usual, she had a smirk on her face and a whistle in her mouth.

"Alright," Adda said loudly and clearly, dropping the whistle so it hung limply around her neck. "Good luck to all of you and may the best team come out on top!" Even though I knew she liked our House, I knew she held no favorites. This would be an extremely fairly called game. Adda had this wild gleam in her eye, like she couldn't wait for the action to start, as if she had waited long enough already.

"Mount your brooms," she said. We all did as we were told. Adda blew her whistle and we all flew into the air when she threw the Quaffle up. She released the other balls, and the game began. I sped down to the goals I'd be protecting, and then heard Tonks' voice, which was five times her normal volume (which is saying something, mind you).

"The Quaffle is taken as soon as it hits the air by Gryffindor's Chaser, Amata Capaldi, who is actually pretty good, which of course surprised me. I mean, who knew that girl—"

"Tonks," Professor McGonagall's voice warned. "Don't start this year."

"Right," Tonks said, and she was back on track. "Capaldi passes to Redgrave, who catches it just before Hufflepuff's Chaser from last year, Michel Anton, does. Nice girl! Keep it up!" I rolled my eyes at Tonks. She was good at this commentary stuff.

"Gryffindor rapidly approaches Hufflepuff's goals. Redgrave passes to Farr, he shoots, and—Oh! Take that Derek Farr! Hufflepuff's Keeper Alec Haigh, bless his hot little soul, makes a nice catch and launches it ten feet down the field to Amy Dehn. Dang man, you've got quite the arm—"

"We don't need to hear you fanaticize about men, Tonks," Professor McGonagall snapped.

"I'm not really fanaticizing about him, Professor. I'm just letting him know what I think. Anyways you Quidditch fans…Dehn speeds down the field, dodges a Bludger—hey! Maltby! She's on _your_ team, man! Anyways, Dehn's getting closer, she passes to Landis, who thinks he can score on the best Keeper in the world—"

"TONKS!" Professor McGonagall yelled.

"What? It's the truth! He must know his good looks won't faze her 'cause she's not his type and all that crap, and she's too good for that—" There was a rustling sound, and then a loud screech.

"Fine," Tonks said. "Landis shoots, and he—oh! Beat that sucker! Gryffindor's very own Nike has made an astonishing feat! She dove _fifteen feet_ down and caught the Quaffle seconds before it entered the goal! That's my girl!"

"TONKS! Do I need to take your job?" Professor McGonagall demanded. I smiled and tossed the Quaffle down the field over the heads of the Hufflepuffs to Jean, who took off.

"Redgrave passes to Capaldi, who passes it back to Redgrave, who passes to Farr, who passes to Capaldi who shoots and…GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" Cheering came from the Gryffindors and half of the Ravenclaws and some of the Hufflepuffs.

"Hufflepuff has possession again. The three Chasers are zooming down the field, passing back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and for—"

"We get it Tonks!" Sirius yelled, hitting a Bludger at Amy Dehn, who currently held the Quaffle.

"Ouch! Dehn gets hit in the hands by a Bludger that Gryffindor's own idiotic Sirius Black, who, may I throw out, Gryffindor isn't proud of him, hit, and she drops the Quaffle, which is retrieved by Farr. Uh-oh. Here comes a Bludger hit by Hufflepuff's team captain Almaert Finlay. Farr's broom is struck and Hufflepuff gets the Quaffle. Ha! Learn how to move Farr!" In case you couldn't tell, Tonks didn't always make sense when she spoke.

"That's _enough_ Tonks," McGonagall warned.

"Hufflepuff approaches the goals, Anton shoots–you're not gonna make it boy–and…I told you! Nike has caught it again! Nothing's ever gonna get past her, so keep dreaming boy!"

"TON—" McGonagall started.

"Hey? Was that the Snitch?" Tonks asked. "Gryffindor's Seeker, James Potter, who I'm surprised can fly with that big fat arrogant dim-witted head of his—"

"I'm warning you Tonks!"

"He's off after a glint of gold! He's getting closer, and closer and closer—oh! Nice block by Gryffindor's Beater Remus Lupin! He just saved you butt Potter! Potter reaches out…and he…POTTER'S GOT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! I am oh-so smart! BE READY TO PAY UP MALFOY!"

We all came to the ground to the sound of deafening cheers. James had his hand in the air with the Snitch in his grasp, grinning like a fool.

* * *

><p>That night Gryffindor threw a celebration in the Common Room. James, of course, was the center of attention, with Sirius right at his side. Flocks of people were surrounding them, saying and doing god-knows-what.<p>

Lily, Tonks, Remus (who Tonks had grown to like and Lily'd become closer to), and I were alone next to the fireplace. Lily was in an armchair, glaring, while Tonks and Remus sat on a couch talking about Tonks' awesome commentary. I was leaning against the fireplace, watching the adoring crowd humorously. James was going to get an earful from Lily for hanging out with a whole bunch of girls. You could tell Lily was jealous, and that James was only flirting with those girls to fuel her jealousy. Just like Lily did when she talked to the other team captains.

"That brainless git!" Lily said suddenly. Remus and Tonks paused in their conversation.

"There's nothing to worry about Lily," Remus said, glancing in James' direction with a comical look reflected in his gaze. His eyes widened and the look went more serious, more…_angry?_ "Umm…Nike?"

"What?"

"You and Sirius aren't—"

"No Remus. How many times must I say that? But thanks for checking."

"Why?" Tonks asked, looking over Remus' shoulder. "Well well well. I told you he was a player." I didn't bother to look.

Lily got to her feet and started to walk towards them.

"Lily? What are you doing?" Remus asked.

"I'm going to teach him a lesson. Come on Tonks." Tonks hopped up and skipped over to Lily. They disappeared into the crowd of people.

"What are they up to?" Remus asked me.

"I don't know," I replied. "But I'm sure we'll find out soon."

And we didn't have long to wait. All the lights went out and there was a complete silence. People started to panic. A spotlight turned on and was focused on the bottom of the stairs behind me. Everyone turned and saw Lily and Tonks standing in front of a maroon and gold curtain that hadn't been there before.

"And now presenting—" Lily said.

"—the stars and heartthrobs of Gryffindor—" Tonks added.

"—Jamie and Selene!" they said in unison, both pointing their wands at the curtain, making it disappear. They stepped out of the way and revealed…

"OH. MY. _GODS_," a fourth year girl said. I laughed loudly and Remus, Amata, Jean, Derek, and two others I couldn't locate joined in. But that was it. Sheesh. These people had _no_ sense of humor what-so-ever.

James, or "Jamie", was dressed in an knee length bright pink strapless dress that shimmered in the light. He wore five inch heels that were shiny and equally as bright and pink as his dress. Pink make-up covered his face in an artful way and he had sparkles all over his face and down his arms and chest. His normal untidy black hair had grown waist length and was very contained and perfectly straight, with pink barrettes decorating his hair. His circular black glasses had turned rectangular and a dark and very noticeable pink. They left most of his masculine look though; so James made a very hideous girl.

Sirius, or "Selene", had on a short halter-top emerald and silver dress that seemed to glow. He, too, had on five inch heels, except his were silver. He had on dark green make-up and silver sparkles. The only thing different with his hair was that it had gotten curlier and half of it fell over his shoulders to mid-arm's length and half was fastened in a ponytail with an emerald barrette. He, too, had his masculine and definitely _not _a feminine look.

After you got over the hideousness of the mixed sexes look, it suited them rather well, if you asked me.

"Hey Jamie!" Remus yelled. "Pink is your color. You should wear it more often." James/Jamie glared and opened his/her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Derek.

"Finally your appearance reflects your nature Selene!"

Sirius/Selene smiled good naturedly, but I knew he was ticked off. "You like it?"

"Oh yeah, totally," Jean called, snickering. "You look _hot_, ladies."

"Is this your new look?" I asked, moving next to them so I could get a better look at Lily and Tonks' artwork.

"Probably—" James started to say.

"That's what I thought," I said. I turned to Sirius. "You know what Selene?"

"What?" he said hesitantly, eyes saying he wasn't sure he trusted me.

"That shade really brings out your eyes. You should wear it more often."

"I'm glad you noticed. I was starting to think this had all happened in vain," he replied.

"Not possible."

"Hey Lily?" James/Jamie said.

Lily had an evil smile on her face, which scared me. This was _Lily_, and she was grinning like a madman!

"Yes Jamie dear?"

"Can you change us back now?"

"No."

"_Why?"_ he demanded.

"Have you learned anything?"

"Yes," Sirius/Selene said. "Heels _kill_ your feet! How can you girls stand—let alone walk!—in these?"

"It's a special talent that only a select few of us have," Tonks said.

"Well you two, it seems, are stuck like this. Sorry," Lily said, shrugging. She walked out of the Common Room with Tonks and Remus right behind her. The lights flipped back on and the Gryffindors separated, talking and laughing amongst themselves.

James/Jamie and Sirius/Selene turned to me.

"She's not serious, is she?" James asked.

"Until you give her the right answer, yes. Yes she is," I replied. "You should be happy though Sirius—I mean Selene. You said once you were trying to think like a girl, so this is the perfect opportunity for you."

"It's like a dream come true," he said sarcastically.

"It's funny how things turn out. But I can't believe you brought poor James—I mean Jamie, into this! Unless…did you want to be a girl too Jamie? Ooooo! Did you two want to be a _couple_? That's it! Too bad James isn't still the guy. I mean, Sirius already _looked _like a girl, so I thought you guys were set."

James and Sirius both gave me a look that said _"You're about to get it."_

"I was trying to be thoughtful," Sirius said through clenched teeth.

"So you didn't do this to be with each other? Oh, okay. I guess you two are worried about being attractive, huh? Let me tell you this; there's some other guys that I know—" and that was all I got out before I took off running out of the Common Room, laughing. I glanced over my shoulder and saw they were pursuing me, but very slowly. After all, it was hard for them to run in five inch heels and skin-tight dresses.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ! I LOVE this chapter! It's a two in one! Quidditch AND completely embarrassing Padfoot and Prongs! Yay! I hope you guys loved it as much as I did. I found it truly hilarious! And you know what? I can't even remember **_**how **_**I came up with the idea…whether it was myself who thought of it or one of my friends…hmm… But nonetheless, I hoped you enjoyed it. **

**Next chapter: You will get to see how they "adjust" to their new selves. **

**Let me know what you thought my lovely people!**

**Nike**

**P.S. Oh, yeah, umm…I need help from someone or all of you… Is Gary and Nike's friendship turning out okay? I'm not sure if it seems stupid how things are turning out and when and how their meetings are…but I'd already written all of this before I had decided that I should put in another guy that would have a major part in a following book after this in many ways… So if you guys have any ideas or questions or remarks that will make this flow along better, please let me know! I really need the help! :|**


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Eighteen

The Platters are Introduced

* * *

><p>It was Monday, and Lily and Tonks still hadn't removed the spell. Last night I had promised Lily and Tonks I'd tell them the reactions of the teachers and students. I think they were enjoying the effects of their little spell.<p>

"It's not Halloween yet, boys," a Slytherin boy said as they passed us in the hallways. His fellow Housemates laughed and walked by.

"What's Halloween?" I asked. All the boys groaned.

"We'll explain later," Remus said, "because that conversation will take awhile."

"Remind me again why we didn't force you to reverse the spell," James said, looking in disgust at his appearance and the backs of the Slytherins.

"Maybe because I don't know what spell they used and you can't force me to do anything I don't want to. Besides, I'm enjoying myself _way_ too much."

"I knew that," Sirius said.

"Remus? Can't you do anything?" James asked.

"Yes, I could, but I gave my word to Tonks that I would not help you two," he replied with a smile.

"Look at us!" James said. "No matter how hard we try to mess up our hair and make-up, it stays the same! No matter what clothes or shoes we change in to, it always changes back to these!"

"Don't lose it Prongs," I said. "Keep it together until the day's over with. Figure out the lesson they wanted you to learn and let them know you learned it and you learned it well."

"Can you tell us what we're supposed to have learned?" Sirius asked.

"Nope. Mainly because even I don't know what it is, really."

We walked into the potions classroom and the muttering began.

Professor Damant looked up and sat there with a startled look on his face. He recovered after a moment. He rose to his feet and walked slowly our way. In a low, drawn out voice he said,

"What exactly happened to you two?" His eyes gleamed, like he couldn't wait for their answer.

Remus and I stopped smiling and James and Sirius exchanged glances and said nothing. We all knew this could turn out ugly.

"I asked you a question," Professor Damant said. Apparently he thought it was scary to draw out your words and talk really slow. I thought not. To me, he seemed like a mental retard.

"What would that be?" Sirius asked.

"You heard me correctly, Mr. Black."

James laughed. "_Mr. Black_? Excuse me professor, but my sister and I are _new students._ Are you not familiar with that concept?"

"You don't understand, which is strange because you're _oh-so_ clever! But this is Jamie and Selene…uh…Platter," I said.

James gave me a sideways glare and Sirius whispered, "Did you call us food?"

"Mate, she called you a _plate_," Remus corrected.

"Oh that makes it all the better!" he muttered crossly, glaring at me. "Do I look like a plate to you?"

"As a matter of fact, you look like a—"

"Enough! What happened?" Professor Damant yelled.

"I did it," I said steadily, not wanting Lily and Tonks to get in trouble. The other Gryffindors said nothing, not wanting to go against me.

His lips curled up into what was supposed to be a smile but looked more like a sagging piece of thread.

"You were told to never again use magic on another student, were you not?"

"Sir! She didn't—"

"Was I speaking to you Mr. Lupin?"

"No. But you've got it all wr—"

"Shut. _Up_. Lupin!" the professor growled. "Were you not told to never use magic on another student again?" he repeated to me.

"Hey! I'm not deaf! I heard you the first fourteen-thousand times!" I snapped.

"Were. You. Not—"

"It might have been mentioned once or twice. Not in those exact words, but…sure. You _could_ say that."

"You now have a month of detention added on top of your one week. Your detention will be figured out later. And if I ever hear of you performing magic on another student ever again in this school, I'll see to it that you get expelled." He then lowered his voice so only my group could hear. "And we all know where you'll go then."

"That's highly unreasonable!" James stated, banging his fist loudly on the desk. "Every student in this school uses magic on their friends! They'd be completely dull if they didn't! You think this is a big deal? Open your eyes and look around! There's plenty things that are worse! If you'd only listen—"

"Mr. Potter—"

"It's actually Miss Platter," I corrected, putting on my I-don't-care-what-happens-next attitude. This teacher couldn't do anything to me, even if he was the Deputy Headmaster. Like he scared me. Puh-_lease_.

"GET OUT!" Professor Damant yelled at me, flinging his arm at the door, as if that would make me move.

Figuring I couldn't get into any more trouble than I already was in, I chose to be argumentative.

"You know, I'd really rather not. I rather enjoy potions," I shot back, staying put in my seat. Before he could give me more detention (like that would bother me) Sirius cut in.

"What if some of us want her to stay here?"

The professor turned his beady little eyes on him, then at the other two Marauders. "All of you, get out of my class! Now!" James, Remus, Sirius, and I gathered our things and left the classroom without another word.

As soon as we were in the hallway, Sirius grabbed my shoulders and shook them saying, "We helped you so now you. Help. Us. _Now!"_

"I think I've figured it out," James said quietly.

Sirius turned his attention to James. "Come on then! Tell _me_."

James grinned wickedly and glanced slyly in my direction. "I can't Padfoot. Rules are rules. But I can give you a hint."

"I guess a hint's better than nothing," he said.

"It _might_ have to do with Nike."

"What?" Sirius and I exclaimed.

"Oh shut-up," I told Sirius. "I was talking to him first."

"No, actually. _I_ was," he argued.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was _not!"_

"Was _too!"_

"Knock it off you two!" James said. "You're acting like an old married couple." He and Remus snickered, sharing an inside joke probably.

I looked at Sirius, and then back at them. "Sorry, but when and if I get married, I am _not_ marrying a girl."

"You say that now…but that could change…"

"I highly doubt that," I said, walking off, leaving them.

James ran after me. "So…were you told you could change us back if we answered correctly?"

"I could, but I don't think I'll change _you_."

"Please? I'll be your best friend."

"What was I before?" I asked pretending to be hurt.

"Crap. You're right. Please Nike? I won't tease you about Sirius anymore."

"Don't lie James. You know you will because that's one of the highlights of your day."

"You know me too well. I hate that," he whined.

"No you don't."

"Would you quit that?"

"Gods, you sound way too much like Sirius!"

"What did you expect?"

"You to be less annoying."

"That hurts Nik. It really hurts. Right. Here." He put his hand over his heart, beating against it.

"Tell me before I rip your head off," I snapped.

He stopped and whispered in my ear, "If you say you love one girl, then don't go off flirting with others, especially the girls she can't stand." I frowned and he said, "What? That's not it? So I just admitted all of that for nothing?"

I laughed at his stricken expression. "No, you're right. Right Remus?" Remus smirked and nodded. I turned my attention back to James. "You just added some stuff on, that's all, but…good to know!"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Change me."

"Huh?" I asked, twirling my wand in my hand.

"Please?"

"That's better." He stepped back and waited. "You know, I wasn't kidding though when I said they didn't tell me the countercurse."

His face fell. "I'm stuck then?"

"No, no, I think I can reverse it without one…but maybe not. You'll have to trust me."

"That I'm not sure I can do—"

"Do you want changed or not?"

"I'm kidding. You know I trust you with my life." Without answering (this was making me kinda uncomfortable because it was kinda personal…) I pointed my wand at him and pictured him as his normal boyish self.

Automatically Jamie was James again, dressed in his school robes, grinning like a fool.

"It's good to be a guy again!" he exclaimed when Sirius was within earshot after he was done checking to make sure he was a guy after all.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Sirius whined. "Why is Jamie James again?"

"Because he's got something you haven't," I replied.

"And what would that be, beside the obvious?" he replied, smirking. I could only begin to guess what _he _was thinking about.

"A brain."

"Jerk," he snapped.

"Th—"

"If you steal my line, I'm going to hurt you. The only bright side of currently being a girl."

"You stole my line before."

"That's different."

"Thank you," I said anyways. "Whatcha gonna do about it? Punch me?" I placed myself in front of him and spread my arms and feet wide, bracing myself. "Even if you were a guy, I'd like to see you do it. So go ahead Selene, my fellow goddess."

His jaw clenched, but he did nothing.

"Scaredy cat!" I taunted.

"I _hate_ cats!" he spat in disgust.

"Peter!" James and Remus chuckled at our arguing.

The next normal thing I saw and heard was Sirius pointing his wand at me and muttering something. Everything grew five times its normal size and every sound seemed to be like a bomb going off right next to me. James and Remus seemed so far away and seemed much, _much_ bigger when they crouched down next to me.

"You'll hate cats too," Sirius said merrily.

"Was that really necessary?" Remus asked.

"Very."

"Let me guess," I said. "I'm a mouse."

"A rat," James corrected, an amazed look on his face. "And you're speaking English."

"Same difference," I said

"How?" Remus asked. "Is it the same way you can talk to us when we're…different?"

"Must be," I said, grinning. I looked at Sirius and pictured him as a fat brown cat. Immediately Selene turned into a feline and I said, "And now you will learn to fear rats and meeces!" I lunged at the cat and knocked him over on his back. He tried to move, but couldn't get away. I was just about to claw him when all of a sudden, my paws were hands and I was laying on top of a guy Sirius, who looked startled. We just looked at each other, and then I heard Remus say,

"Ah, hell. He's not supposed to be normal."

I chuckled and got off of him and held my hand out, helping him up. "I was just getting to the good part! You two couldn't have picked a better timing?" I asked James and Remus, who both had their wands out.

James grinned crookedly and Remus got this mischievous glint in his eyes.

"That's what it looked like," James said. Remus flicked his wand and Sirius became Selene again.

"Ugh, you guys are horrible!" I said, smiling wryly.

"Nooooooooo! I'm a _girl_ again!" Sirius groaned. He glared at Remus and then stormed away.

"Sirius Black!" came a woman's strict voice. Sirius and the rest of us turned around very slowly to see Professor McGonagall tapping her foot angrily, staring us all down.

"Good morn—"

She held up her hand, silencing James. "Don't _ever_ use Transfiguration as a form of punishment in this school."

"She—"

"I did _not_ do that! And I don't think that's even Transfiguration!" I cut Sirius off.

"I wasn't going to say you did _this_," he said, gesturing at himself. The professor's lips twitched when she actually looked at Sirius.

"Nonetheless, I saw only you, Mr. Black, and you know how I feel about that. And it is not fair if you may use magic on another student yet she may not."

Sirius took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Okay. I'm sorry. It won't happen again in front of you."

"I should think not. And to make sure you have detention. Come to my classroom right after classes are done. Both of you," she added, staring at me. The smirk fell off my face and replaced itself on Sirius.

"But Professor!" I exclaimed. "I already have a month and a week's worth of it!"

"I know, and we'll get that sorted." And then she walked off.

"I hate you," I growled at Sirius.

"Right back at you," he replied.

"My my," Remus said.

"Do we have a love/hate relationship here?" James finished.

They were answered with identical glares.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Short, I know, and I'm sorry for that! I truly am! I originally had this chapter and the one after it combined as one, but because I added some stuff, it was just a tad bit too long and didn't flow very well together. Or so I thought.**

**I don't really have much to say, I'm feeling a bit odd today, a bit lonely I think. So, I'm sorry I'm not very talkative. (Some of you might be rejoicing in that, so enjoy it while you can!)**

**Next chapter: How do you think the guys will take to Nike and Gary's steady friendship? Let me know!**

**Please review! **

**Nike**


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Nineteen

My Friends Are _So _Understanding

* * *

><p>"Hey Keep! Great job in the match. I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner but…" Gary stopped when he looked down at the figure next to me. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked Sirius, who was looking at him with an irritated and definitely <em>girl <em>look.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius demanded while James looked up sharply at the sound of Gary's voice. Remus groaned and covered his eyes with his hands while I hit my head against the table. We were thinking the exact same thing; _Here we go…_

"I was congratulating Nike. She was bloody brilliant yesterday," Gary said, looking at both me and Remus with (and I'm pretty sure only I could tell what it was) a slightly worried expression.

Tonks and Lily looked at each other and smirked. _Oh no, _I thought. _This is about to get ugly. _

"You know what Napier?" Lily said slowly, her angelic face not showing the slightest sign of any mischievousness.

"Hmm?"

"Besides for Remus, you're the first guy to tell her that."

"Everything else was just about _them _and only _them_," Tonks agreed, shaking her head sadly, looking pointedly at James and Sirius.

"What?" Gary turned to glare at James and Sirius (Selene).

"It's really none of your business, so why don't you go back to your little know-it-all friends and leave us alone?" Sirius growled.

"I hope you know that if you didn't have someone as great as her, Potter, you're whole season would start and end just like all the past years'," Gary snapped. "I suggest you show some respect."

"And I suggest you walk away before I end up doing something that someone might regret later," James said icily.

"I suggest you learn how to appreciate what you've got there in front of you and realize that you two aren't everything."

Both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables were silent, watching the spectacle that had started just because Gary had told me good job. _Guys,_ I scoffed.

"Don't you be telling me how to run my team!" James shrieked.

"Why? Why? Why? Why? Why…?" I muttered, banging my head repeatedly against the table with each word.

"This isn't even about you!" Gary yelled.

"_Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why…?" _I continued my little rant.

"It sure seems like it! You Ravenclaws think you're _so _better than us just because your House is labeled brainy," Sirius sneered. "Sad that you can't even realize _what _you're saying."

"Are you insulting my House?"

"_WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY…?"_

"Yeah," Sirius said. "I am. But only because you started it first by insulting mine."

"I did no such thing!"

"_…?__"_

"Would you stop that?" all three of them yelled at me at the same time.

"Don't yell at her!" Sirius yelled at Gary.

"I didn't yell at her! You did!" Gary corrected.

"I think not!" James said angrily. "We'd never do such a thing!"

"Neither would I!"

There was a loud, resounding crack. The table had split beneath my head.

"Knock it off! All of you!" I yelled. "What the hell is this about anyways?"

None of them answered me.

"Gary was only being nice, so James. Sirius. _KNOCK YOUR SHIT OFF!_ Just because he's from another House doesn't mean we have to treat him differently! And as for you," I said, turning to Gary. "I have never seen you that angry. Please don't do that again." I picked up my stuff, and then looked at him again. "Thanks. For congratulating me, that is. I needed it. It made me feel a hell of a lot better. And you two," I glanced over my shoulder at James and Sirius. "I'll see you in class. Cool down by then and try to act civil. In the meantime, I need to find a way to make this bloody headache go away. It feels like my head is still being thrown against that table."

And with that I strode out of the Great Hall, leaving everyone in a shocked silence.

What an interesting lunch this had turned out to be for an interesting day.

* * *

><p>Weasley was one of the only professors (along with Adda who would <em>not<em> let it go) that found Sirius' knew look amusing.

Weasley shook his hand and said, "Welcome to Hogwarts Miss Selene Platter. You should fit in very well, so don't worry."

"Thank you very much Professor. Your words have taken a deep effect on me," Sirius said sarcastically. He and James hadn't apologized to me when they showed up, and I knew that I was going to get it later. But as of right now, they pretended everything was normal so as not to attract any more attention to what had happened (if the rumors hadn't spread already).

"How nice of you four to watch over this young lady," Weasley continued, beaming at James, Remus, and I.

"It was the least we could do. You should've seen her when she came in. She was terrified! She was trembling all over," James said in mock sympathy.

"You poor thing," Weasley muttered.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm almost better now," Sirius said, stalking over to his desk.

"What's wrong with the new girl?" a Hufflepuff girl asked.

"I don't know…but she is _hot_," the guy sitting next to her said, examining Sirius.

Me, Remus, James, and several other Gryffindors burst out laughing while Sirius slammed his head on the table.

"Sit down everyone so we may begin," Weasley said above all the laughter. His eyes were twinkling with mischief. "And Mr. Hebden, please don't share your obsession with a girl that you hardly know anything about in front of the class. What you find out will surely almost always surprise you."

Again, the Gryffindors laughed, and I could tell the Hufflepuff boy wasn't going to hear the end of this.

"I hate my life," Sirius muttered when I sat next to him.

"Hey, you must be pretty amazing if you attract both genders, right?" I said, trying to cheer him up.

He was silent for a moment. "Is that what this is all about?"

"What do you mean?" Wow. Was this what it took to get him to learn his lessons? A guy calling him hot? Next time I'd just have to have Peter do that.

"The lesson…Lily got jealous of the girls around James, didn't she?"

"Doesn't she always?"

He lifted his head and looked at me thoughtfully. "Then why was I changed?"

"Well," I said thinking back. "Tonks said you were a player and Remus got ticked off at you because what he saw and what he thought didn't match up."

"And that would be…"

"I don't know! Do you think I'm a mind reader or something?"

"Sometimes, yes." He smiled. "Can I be changed back now?"

"Nope. Let me know in Divination what the lesson was."

He glared at me. "You just want Loony Lovegood to see me like this."

"Yep. That's pretty much it."

"Thank the gods we haven't seen Peeves today," he muttered.

"Don't jinx yourself Miss Platter," I chided.

"Don't fool yourself Miss…"

I frowned. "It's so sad to think that you can't even finish a comeback. Now I'm worried about you."

"Aww, I'm touched. But it's your fault this time. You need a last name."

"Like what? Do you have one in mind?"

He hesitated. "No. But when I figure it out, I'll let you know."

"You do that."

"Trust me, I will."

* * *

><p>The reaction of my third favorite professor was almost disappointing. All Luna had done was smile and say,<p>

"You remind me of my old friends so much." Sirius and I weren't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

When the class was reading the _Intro to Reading Tea Leaves_ book, Luna came over with a crystal ball in her hands and sat down across from us.

She smiled warmly at our confused looks and made a motion for us to keep silent. Sirius closed our book and put it away. Luna closed her eyes and her hands levitated above the crystal ball, perfectly still. Murmuring a few words in a strange language, she lowered her hands and opened her eyes, gazing at something in the crystal ball. Her eyes moved back and forth, as if she were watching something. A couple seconds later she blinked and lowered her hands to her side and gave us a smile.

"Well Sirius my dear, don't worry so much. You'll be back to normal before the end of the night. You'll figure it out. And Nike, start looking around. Christmas vacation is coming soon, and I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay on school grounds. Especially if you'll be alone."

"Why?"

She hesitated. "You remember the meeting, yes?" I nodded so she continued. "There's no telling when He'll return, but it's for sure He'll come here. And once He catches wind of you, He won't leave you alone until you've either joined Him, you're dead, or He's dead once and for all…permanently."

"Why?" I asked again.

Luna chuckled quietly, but the laugh was humorless, it was more worried.

"You must know by now, dear, that you're an extremely powerful witch and still you are getting even more powerful each day."

"So he'll want to control me?"

"More or less." Luna glanced at Sirius. "Although I know some people won't let that happen. But just be careful. Things are going to get very confusing, complicated, and heartbreaking. Before this is over, you will have lost yet gained some friends. You'll go through many life changing events, and you'll suffer greatly, but your heart and mind will open more. Am I clear?"

"No," Sirius said, his brow furrowed.

"Good." Luna gave us another small smile and then she said, "Just remember that. Keep your friends close." Louder, Luna said, "Class dismissed! See you tomorrow children!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know, I know, stupid argument…but I needed to throw that out there. Yes, again, the guys don't seem like they're too awfully ticked at Nike…but I'm not sure if I want them to be, or if not. I don't know. A little help, maybe?**

**Again, I love Luna. She's one of my favorites. You will be seeing even more of her as they get further on in their years. So, if you don't like the weird girl, suck it up. Please. (That was meant in the most nicest and loving way possible!)**

**Next chapter: Detention!**

**R&R please!**

**Nike**


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Twenty

Detention Sentence with the House-elves

* * *

><p>"Can you please change me before we go to dinner?" Sirius asked me while we were doing homework in the Common Room.<p>

"That's a Lily question," I replied, finishing the rest of my potions homework.

"You know what she'll say even if I gave her the right answer." He mimicked Lily's voice, "Oh, Potter helped you because you're too stupid to figure it out on our own. So you learned absolutely _nothing_."

I laughed quietly. "I'd keep my voice down if I were you. Lily's right over there."

Sirius shrugged. "I don't care!" He looked at Lily and James who were watching Remus get his butt kicked in Wizards Chess against Tonks. "James is _such_ a kiss-ass."

"You know you'd be doing the same thing if it worked for you," I said as I watched one of Remus' knights get clobbered.

"But it doesn't, so…" He pulled my wand out of my pocket and held it out to me. "Please?"

Sighing, I took it from him. "In a way, you're even more annoying than James was. Jeesh, I'm becoming such a softy."

"You? A softy?" Sirius laughed. "Yeah, when I become a Slytherin, you are."

"Careful what you wish for Black."

"Careful? I don't know the meaning."

"That I know."

"Good. Glad that's established." I rolled my eyes at him and changed him back into the guy Sirius.

He grinned. "Yes! I'm Sirius Black again!" he yelled.

Lily and James glanced over.

"Took you long enough mate," James said.

"I was beginning to think you'd be a girl for the rest of your life," Lily agreed.

"I'm known for surprising people," Sirius said. "I owe you one Nik. Thanks."

"Uh-huh. I'll remember that."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"You should be afraid."

"I'm always afraid of you."

"Thank you. I pride myself on scaring people."

"That really doesn't surprise me."

There came cheering from the others' direction. We looked over to see Tonks beaming and Remus smiling, as if he had planned his defeat.

"Now _there's_ a softy if I've ever seen one," Sirius muttered to me under his breath.

"Aye Padfoot!" James called. "Moony actually lost!"

"You're losing your touch," Sirius told Remus.

Remus' grin got even wider. "And you think you could do any better?"

"No. I _know_ I can," Sirius said.

Tonks took the challenge. "Come on then Black. Let's see what you've got, or, what you _haven't_ got." Sirius and I walked over to where they were and Sirius sat on the floor across from Tonks and I sat on the couch and leaned against Remus, who said,

"Sirius is going to get put in his place here." And he was right. Thirty minutes later Tonks had concurred him, and she was grinning from ear to ear while Sirius was trying to brush the game off, saying he'd let her win, but next time she wouldn't be so lucky. It was actually _Tonks _who'd been going easy. I could see it in her actions, as could Remus.

"Whatever!" Tonks said. "You couldn't beat me even if I was playing in my sleep!"

"Could too! I'm awesome at this game!" Sirius argued.

"I'd stick with Quidditch if I were you," James told his brother. "You actually have skill there."

"You want to play Nike?" Tonks asked.

"Don't know how," I said.

"Oh, it's easy! Come on, Remus and I'll teach you!" she persisted.

"Then you can beat the crap outta Sirius at this too," Remus added.

"However tempting that may sound," Sirius cut in. "We've got to go see McGonagall. Maybe some other time."

"Good excuse Black," Lily said. "Good luck Nik. At least when McGonagall gives you detention she'll be lenient."

"Huh?" Sirius said.

Lily rolled her eyes at him and James, with a satisfied look, said,

"It means she'll be merciful or, to put it in a way you'll understand, she'll go easy on you."

"Why didn't you just say that?" Sirius asked.

"Well unlike you, some of us are actually smart enough to have a big vocabulary," Lily said.

"You mean—"

"Come on Sirius before you get hurt," I said, grabbing his hand and dragging him away.

"This isn't over!" he yelled back at her. Lily just grinned while Tonks and James started to play against each other.

"What's detention normally like?" I asked him as we made our way to the Transfiguration classroom.

"Ah, nothing too bad. Scrubbing floors, polishing trophies and metals and stuff, going into the Forbidden Forest to track down evil beasts, writing lines with quills that use your blood in the place of ink—"

"Is that all?" I asked.

"No."

"What kind of a quill uses your blood? That's crazy!"

Sirius held out his left hand for me to see, and carved there I saw the words _I will not commit to mischief._ It looked like a scar, but it was still red even though the edges around the words had skin starting to cover over it. "'S what it looks like about a few months later. It'll be gone in a few more months."

"When did that…?"

"Last school year, right before the summer. All four of us have it."

"What's the point of that?"

"Supposedly it's supposed to get the message through to you, but do you really think we Marauders let this set us back?"

"No…but still, that's horrible."

"It only stung a lot, like something was ripping your skin open—"

"Okay! So you think we're gonna do that?"

"No. I've never gotten detention from McGonagall before, but she's not cruel like Professor Damnit and the Headmaster. You're lucky actually that she's giving you the punishment and not Damnit." He knocked on Professor McGonagall's door, and we entered when we heard her.

"Good evening to you two," she said, looking up from her work.

I muttered a reply while Sirius said, "It's a pleasure to see you on this fine evening my dear professor." He bowed to her, and I pushed him over, saying,

"Don't oversell it Padfoot."

Professor McGonagall chuckled. "Get up off the floor Mr. Black. Nike, be nicer to him." Sirius snorted and I just stared at her. "It was only a suggestion," she said with a slight smile.

"Oh, okay," Sirius said. "'Cause if she wasn't 'mean' to me, I think I'd be lost."

"I have informed the House-elves that they will be receiving some extra help in the kitchens for quite awhile."

"We have to _cook_?" Sirius demanded. "I'd take writing with a blood-fueled quill any day over that!"

"I don't know how…well, not the stuff you cook here," I said.

"You won't be cooking. You'll be cleaning the dishes without magic." She had an amused expression.

"How do we do that?" Sirius and I asked at the same time.

"The House-elves will show you. Think of this as a favor, when you're adults and have your own home, you'll both have experience in housework."

"That's when you use magic!" Sirius argued.

"Oh quit being lazy Sirius," I snapped.

"I'm _not_. I'm being highly reasonable!"

"Highly _un_reasonable you mean."

"And," Professor McGonagall interrupted. "It will be the perfect opportunity for you two to see how well you work together."

"Work _together_?" I asked.

"With _her_?" he asked. "It's a good thing that I have it for only one day and not the whole time she does."

I grinned. "Seems to me you owe me one, Black. From now on whatever detention I get, you have to share with me."

"But—"

"A deal is a deal Black," I said. "Am I right professor?"

"I should think so. A good man never goes back on his word, especially if he gave it to a woman," she said.

"But he's not good _or_ a man," I said.

"And she ain't no woman," Sirius said. I raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a look that said, _'How do you know?'_ He just shrugged, smiling arrogantly.

"Do you want me to help you win this argument or not?" she asked me, ignoring Sirius' comment.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Report to the kitchens after supper. I can't wait to hear the House-elves' report."

* * *

><p>"Shubrook is very pleased to see two young wizards!" a frail, three foot tall almost greenishgrayish skinned House-elf said in an extremely low voice. His eyes were the size of tennis balls and were a dark orange color. He wore dirty rags (or was it a toga?) and he held this type of white fabric in his long, skinny hands. He was beaming, showing off small, yellow teeth.

"Shubrook not only has master, Shubrook is master while Sirius and Nike Black are here!" Jeesh. Think his name was Shubrook?

"Wait! Hold on! Sirius and Nike _Black_?" I exclaimed.

"You're our _master_?" Sirius asked, thinking that was a more important question, like the other one he could deal with for the time being.

"Shubrook was told he was master of Sirius and Nike and he was told to instruct them," Shubrook said, nodding his head vigorously. He thrust something at us; the fabric. "Wizards are House-elves at night, therefore wizards must dress as a House-elf." Was it just me, or did this tiny House-elf look smug?

"What? There's absolutely no way I am getting in another dress after I just got myself out of one! It's not happening!" Sirius exploded. I think he kind of despised these creatures, the way he was looking around him in disgust.

"You have a problem undressing yourself?" Shubrook asked, eyes narrowed in confusion. I burst out laughing, which made Sirius turn red.

"There's no way," he repeated.

Shubrook's eyes narrowed, this time in anger. "Shubrook is master. Wizards will listen or else."

"Ooo, I'm scared!" Sirius mocked. "Forget this."

"Very well Sirius Black," Shubrook said. He snapped his long, brittle fingers and Sirius flew back into a wall and hit it hard, knocking some shelves over on top of him. Ouch.

I thought he'd gotten knocked out, but apparently he was tougher than I'd thought. Sirius rose and approached the House-elf, fuming.

"What right do you have to use magic against a wizard?" he demanded.

The House-elf met his smoldering glare. "All the right in the world Sirius Black. When Sirius Black is in Hogwarts' kitchens, Shubrook is Sirius Black's master." Other House-elves paused their eating and drinking, watching in awe as the spectacle took place. I don't think a House-elves fought or argued with wizards much.

"There is no way you slimy little—" Sirius started to growl.

Shubrook held up his hand and said, "If Sirius Black refuses to listen, Shubrook has no choice but to punish."

"You're _so_ lucky I can't do magic—"

"Would not make a difference to Shubrook. Shubrook seems to have no choice…" He went to snap his fingers, but found he couldn't move. "Shubrook is frozen like stone!" he shrieked. "What magic is this?" The House-elves started to chatter.

Sirius smiled cruelly. "What's wrong? So weak you've only got one spell in you?"

"Sirius!"

"What?" he snapped at me. Realizing it was _me_ he was talking to, his features softened and his voice wasn't quite as hard. "I'm sorry Nik. These evil things are just power-hungry. If you don't watch your back, they'll kill you if they're told to."

"I'm sure not all of them are like that Sirius. But if you hate these creatures so much, just do as they say and we'll be done soon and be out of here. Okay? I won't let them use any magic against you if you just keep your mouth shut and listen."

It clicked in his slow working mind. "That's you that froze his magic."

"Yeah."

The House-elf's eyes widened, but he said nothing.

"I didn't know you could do that," Sirius mused.

"Don't underestimate me, Black," I said, leaning against a counter. "Do we have a deal here, or am I not going to protect you from the big bad House-elf?"

The Hose-elf swelled with pride, thinking I'd just complimented him. Sirius, on the other hand, didn't like my comment one bit. "I don't need _you_ to protect me from _anything_. I do just fine on my own."

"Okay, fine. Didn't mean to hurt your pride or anything," I grumbled. I looked at the lead House-elf, Shubrook. "Come on then! I don't want to be here all night. Show us what we have to do." I released my hold on his magic.

"Yes ma'm! Shubrook is sorry if he has offended your greatness!" The little House-elf bowed to me, shot a glare at Sirius, and turned to the others. "You heard the master! Get to it!"

"Kiss-ass," Sirius grumbled. "I _hate_ these things."

So we got to work scrubbing dish after dish after dish. For awhile we worked in silence because Sirius was "mad at me", like usual when he knew I was right. But he soon got bored.

"The Hogsmeade visits start this weekend. Do you get to go?"

"No. Nobody can sign the permission slip or whatever."

"Oh. That sucks. You'll just have to use the Marauder's Map then, won't you." It wasn't a question. He was telling me I had to go.

"Yeah. _You_ get to explain to Lily what I'm doing out of the school though."

"Fine." He sighed.

"Good."

He held up his pruned hands, examined them, and then plunged them back into the dishwater.

"What about the Quidditch game on Friday?"

"What about it?"

"Well, since we already beat one House pretty badly, how do you think Slytherin's going to react or take in that information?"

"Do I think they're going to cheat? Yes. Yes I do. Do I think they're going to win? No. No I don't."

"Good. I can guarantee that you, and probably James, will be the hot topics though." I raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, you two will be their main targets, so you'll need to watch out," he said hastily.

"Am I hearing concern coming out of you?"

"No, caution. Quidditch is everything."

"I see," I said, frowning.

"Oh gods. That came out wrong. I meant—"

"It's fine, Sirius. Peoples' priorities are set differently."

"I really didn't mean it like that. I'm not that much of a prat."

"Are you sure?"

"No."

"Well thanks for being honest with me for once."

He opened his mouth to say something when we heard a door open and then close. I turned around and saw…

"Doughboy?" I whispered, puzzled.

Sirius turned around and his eyes hardened.

"Regulus," he snapped. "What in the bloody hell are you doing here?"

Regulus jumped and turned startled eyes towards us. The House-elves just watched from the places they'd quickly hidden themselves in.

"What are _you_ doing here, brother?" he shot back. He nodded his head at me. "Good evening Nike."

"You make me sick," Sirius spat.

"As you I, brother," Regulus replied shortly. "I see you're still with the wrong sort Nike."

"Says who exactly?" I demanded. "A dough-eating cookie monster?"

"Sirius and Potter sure have corrupted your brain, haven't they?"

"No one can do that," I replied.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "She'd have to have a brain before we could corrupt it."

"He's right—Hey!" I yelled, shoving him over some, and he landed in some bubbles, sending them skyward.

"Hi," he replied, smirking, waving a soapy hand at me.

I rolled my eyes at him. "So, Doughboy. You ready to get your ass kicked on Friday?"

He smiled arrogantly, reminding me way too much of Sirius, except Sirius' arrogant smile was cuter. Oh _crap_. I did _not_ just think that. I refuse to, I told myself.

"We'll see about that. Now I should be going." He moved towards the door. Sirius made way to go stop him and probably give him hell, but I held out a hand, stopping him.

"Oh, and Doughboy?" I called.

He froze, his hand on the doorknob and his back to us.

"Yes?"

"Hope you enjoyed your last visit for cookie dough."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Boring chapter? Maybe. I liked it though. It might have been a time-waster to get on to the next chapter…but I enjoyed writing it. I like the House-elves, especially the way they talk. It makes me laugh.**

**As usual for chapters like these…I don't have much to say. Oh! Except is anybody else as excited about the whole story cover thing as I am? I have tons of ideas for mine...just no idea how to create them. Heh... *embarassed look***

**Next chapter: Who do you think will win the Quidditch game: Gryffindor or Slytherin? What will be the costs? Who will die? Nah, just kidding! *said in a dark voice* Nobody will die…yet.**

**Alright, so my thank you's:**

What's A Kammel-Monkey**: Well, first let me say, what a nice name! Haha how in the world did you think of that? =) Thank you very much! I like to hear that this story pleases! And, yes, as a matter of fact, there will be more books after this one, probably about four or five more. There's also a prequel to this one, called **"The Healing Touch" **that's a HP/Tangled crossover. You'll see one of my main characters in that one back in the book following this one.**

**R&R even though it wasn't much of a chapter! Just let me know about whatever you thought over this! And notice that I'm on fanfiction much more often, so as soon as you post a review, expect an update REAL soon, as in maybe within an hour or later that day or quite possibly the next day AT THE LATEST! Haha I'm loving this... =D **

** Thank you!**

**Nike**


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Twenty-one

Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

* * *

><p>"I'm going to take charge today because our team captain is currently being senseless," Sirius said, standing in the center of our group. James just rolled his eyes at him.<p>

"The Slytherins, I can assure you, will play dirty. They'll probably have stuff rigged. Their main way of playing is taking the main players, or the best players, permanently out of the game." The team looked at James, and then at me.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Amata asked.

"Last year it was easy, well, sorta, to protect the main player 'cause it was only James. This year we've got to watch him _and_ Nike. How's that gonna work out?" Jean asked.

"We have two Beaters don't we?" Remus pointed out.

"Right," Sirius said. "So that'll have to do. No big deal, right?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Derek said.

"And why, pray tell, would that be?" Amata asked her cousin.

"I—"

"Fine. You protect both of them," Sirius said, shrugging as if it were nothing too awfully important. But I could tell he was pissed off at this guy. "But you better do your other job well and right."

Derek frowned. "Whatever. Do what you want, like usual."

"Do we get a say in this?" I asked finally. James smiled when everyone yelled,

"No!"

"I asked the same thing last year," he said. "It's no use."

"We'll keep an eye out, and where we can we'll stop them. Not being entirely dirty, of course, but we have some tricks too," Jean commented.

"Alright. Remus, you've got…?"

Remus smiled slightly. "James. You've got Nike."

"Uh…can we switch?" he asked. "It's easier for me to work with James and I know you and Nike work best together."

"Nope," Remus said, shaking his head stubbornly. "You've gotta learn, as do I."

"Don't lower yourselves to their level, am I clear?" James asked, taking charge again when Sirius started to pout.

"Yes Prongsie!" Remus, Sirius, and I yelled while the rest said, "Yes!"

"Let's go and kick some Slytherin ass!" James yelled. And with that, we walked out into the dark evening and tons of cheering.

From the banners, cheers, and colors worn, I could tell all of the Houses wanted Gryffindor to win except for Slytherin. I caught sight of Lily, who gave me an encouraging smile and cheered even louder for me. Peter, who was slouched in his seat next to her, was watching us in his normal nervous little way. I glanced over in the Ravenclaw stands and met Gary's eye, and he gave me an encouraging smile. Despite not being able to practice together since Gryffindor's last game, he knew I would do fine. I was surprised to see him wearing some Gryffindor colors, especially after what had happened between him and James and Sirius.

"I want you _all_ to play a nice, fair, and clean game. Am I understood?" Adda demanded, looking at the Slytherins in particular. I locked eyes with Regulus, who smiled cockily at me. Sirius glared at his little brother and moved so he blocked him from view. I gave him an appreciative look, and he nodded in recognition. Adda glance at our team, and I could tell she was worried.

"Mount your brooms then," she said. We did as she said, and then seconds later, the game began.

"Well ladies and gentlemen today we are going to have ourselves one interesting game!" Tonks said from her spot as commentator. "Gryffindor, of course, gets the Quaffle as soon as it hits the air. They better watch out though because here comes Slytherin, right on the Chasers' heels. Slytherin's Harrold Malfoy goes for Gryffindor's Jean Redgrave, and to tell you all the truth, here's where the dirt resides. One of the three suppliers anyways."

"Don't start already Tonks," Professor McGonagall, not a second sooner or later than I expected, said tiredly.

"Alrighty then! Anyways, Slytherin's Coates and Crichlow, who, might I add, are sneaky little—"

"Tonks!" came McGonagall's irritated voice.

"And the war of words has begun," Sirius muttered.

"Is that going to be your entertainment for the game?" I asked.

"No. Believe me; I'll get plenty of excitement guarding you."

"You can go knock them off their brooms if you really want to. I don't mind."

"I know you don't," he replied with a smile. "Please don't tempt me."

"I can take care of myself!" I pouted.

"No, Nike, you can't."

"Yes, Sirius, I can. Now get out of my way so I can do my job."

"Coates and Crichlow just blocked Capaldi and Farr so Malfoy could move in and take care of Redgrave himself. Now Malfoy thinks he can get back at Nike by scoring on her. Fat chance there boy!" Tonks yelled.

Malfoy's mouth was twisted into a smirk and he had a confident look in his eyes. His teammates slacked behind him, not quite good, quick fliers, as, sadly, Malfoy himself.

I saw the shift of his body and the ball launched towards the lower right hoop. I sped after it and got in front of the Quaffle, catching it easily. I threw the Quaffle to Derek and gave Malfoy a smug smile. Malfoy's eyes narrowed at me and he flicked his hand out, which, apparently was a signal to his teammates.

They both flew after Derek, one on either side, and then they got closer, soon squishing Derek like a bug between them (truthfully that's what he looked like next to the _big_ boys) before Derek could pick up speed and out-fly them. Crichlow shoved Derek backwards while Coates snatched the Quaffle out of his hands. In perfect sync, they turned around and headed our way.

"What the hell?" I yelled. Derek, lucky for him, had managed to stay on his broom.

"Hello!" Tonks screeched. "Did _anyone_ see that? _FOUL!_ You horrible, insignificant, loathsome, little fat gits!" I could just imagine Tonks' face getting extremely red, as red as her hair, actually, from rage. "This is _bad!_ I'm sticking up for Derek Farr! _Someone_ get these Slytherins under control!"

"_Tonks!"_ McGonagall yelled. "Put a lid on it!"

"Well it's the truth!" Tonks snapped. "The Quaffle is again thrown to Malfoy, the dirtbag. He tries again, and, as before, is caught by Nike, who tosses it to Capaldi, who launches it down the field to Redgrave before the Slytherins can catch up."

"Aye Sirius! Comin' your way!" Remus yelled a warning, flying along besides James, who was searching the skies anxiously. One of Malfoy's cronies, Durer, was swinging a club and slamming it into a Bludger, sending it our way. Well, my way. I shifted, and it moved over so it would always have a straight, clear path to me.

I glanced at Sirius to say, okay, I accepted his help, but couldn't find him.

"Ah great. You couldn't have left me the club you stupid prat?" And, of course, no magic was allowed in Quidditch (although I'm sure that's what the Slytherins used to rig this game), so, I figured, I was screwed.

"Remus—" I started to yell.

He turned to look and saw the Bludger following my every move.

"Damnit Sirius!" he cursed. "We need her!"

There was a loud crack and the Bludger flew back down the field.

"Give me some time people!" Sirius yelled back at his friend. "I know what I'm doing!" I just glared at him, and he smiled. "What? You honestly think I'm gonna let them touch you?" he asked, deadly serious.

"Fool!" came a shrill yet familiar yell. There was an even louder crack that sounded twice, and I turned around just in time to see James fall, a Bludger hit my face, and Dominatrix's cruel, triumphant grin. I felt myself hit a hard, metal bar, and then I was free-falling. I saw Sirius' shocked and pained expression, and then everything went black with pain.

* * *

><p><em>Nike! James! Damnit! Why the hell them? I had to think fast… I couldn't let James fall and possibly die or be out for the season; he'd hate that, and he was the only family that I felt I truly had. But as I turned to look at Nike's falling figure, deep longing and confusion overwhelmed me, along with this feeling that I wasn't familiar with. But, seeing her, I knew James wasn't the only person that I had in this world.<em>

_Not caring about the rules or consequences, I took out my wand and pointed it at James, yelling, "Aresto Momentum!" I then flew into a steep (not to mention probably suicidal) dive, trying to catch Nike, who'd, ironically, fallen back through her own goal post._

_The ground was approaching rapidly. One-hundred feet. Fifty. Thirty. Twenty…_

"_Sirius!" Lily and Tonks screamed, their voices filled with terror. I gritted my teeth, and outstretched my arms. I grabbed her waist and pulled her towards me, and then tried to pull up so we wouldn't hit the ground. But it was too late; the ground was too close. I pulled her even closer to me so I could shield her fall. We hit the ground, me first, and my head slammed down, and everything went blurry. I fought for consciousness, needing to reassure myself. _

_I looked at James, who Remus was laying carefully on the ground before rushing over to us, and saw that in his hands was something gold. I looked down at Nike, who thank the gods I think was breathing, and I closed my eyes and blacked out._

* * *

><p>My head freaking hurt. My thoughts were jumbled, but I felt panic rising. Sirius…he—<p>

"Where is he?" I grumbled.

"Nike?" I heard Remus say. "Tonks! Lily! James!" I heard feet rustling and then I sensed people around me.

"Oh gods, is she okay?" Lily asked.

"Are you sure you heard her Remus?" Tonks asked.

I felt a hand on mine. "Do you think she'll be alright Moony?" James asked.

"Yeah. I've been listening all night."

I opened my eyes and saw all of my friends standing above me with worried expressions. But something…was missing.

"I'm not dead or anything, just have this gods-awful headache."

They all cracked smiles except for Lily, whose frown deepened. "Umm…Nike…you got a concussion…are you okay?"

"She's fine Lily," James said, pulling her into a hug.

I blinked. "No, I don't think so. The Bludger must've given me brain damage 'cause now I'm seeing the impossible…either that or I'm delusional." They all laughed and I thought I heard someone chuckle and mutter,

"Can't get something that you already have."

"What's going on here?" I asked.

"I'll explain later," James said, winking at me.

"You will _not_," Lily said. "You'll leave that to me."

James smiled cockily. "Whatever you say dear."

"I was just worried about the stupid git, and I...accidently...kissed him," Lily said, blushing.

"Now I think I've died. Because this sure as hell isn't real life!" I said, looking from Lily's red face to James' triumphant one, wondering what this would mean in their relationship, or lack-thereof.

"Nike, you said you remembered getting hit by a Bludger," Remus said hesitantly. "Do you remember anything else? Like…what happened?"

It then registered what, or should I say who, was missing.

"Where's Sirius?" I demanded. They exchanged glances, but kept to themselves. "He's not…dead…is he?" I asked. "Oh gods. That stupid prick! What is his problem?" I glared up at the ceiling. "There _is_ a point when bravery turns into stupidity."

Someone chuckled. "Well I'll take that as a 'thank you for saving my bloody life Sirius!'" Everyone turned around, relieved grins spreading out over their faces.

"Sirius Black!" I yelled. "You bloody idiot! You could've died!" I flung myself out of the bed I was in and stalked over to him.

"Nike, you really shouldn't move that fast, or at all for that matter…" Lily started to say.

I glared down at his usual arrogant smiling face and punched him. "What were you thinking?"

"Oh!" he yelled, rubbing his arm. "Well…I was thinking about seeing how good I was at pulling up from a dive, but apparently, I'm no good at all. I'll leave the tricky stuff to you and James from now on." His smile disappeared. "Hey, are you okay? You look kinda unsteady." He was right. I felt unsteady. The world was spinning super fast and I couldn't stay on my feet. I fell, my mind going blank.

"Nike!" Lily shrieked.

"Sirius has got her," Tonks muttered, smiling.

I looked behind me and glared at Sirius, who I was currently laying next to. He tried to hide his pained expression with a mischievous one. "Well, a simple 'thank you' would have been fine. You don't need to jump on top of me and smother me."

"Ha! Yeah right. I just got light-headed."

"I do that to people, so it's nothing to worry about."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm sure that's not it." I tried to get up but he held onto me.

"Oh, I'm sure it is," he argued.

James coughed. "Do we need to leave you two alone?" Both of us glared at him. He held up his hands in surrender. "Just thought I'd ask." Sirius released me so I sat up next to him.

"So…" Tonks said awkwardly. "Does anyone know what happened? Or should I say, why and how it happened?"

"I do," Sirius and I said at the same time.

Sirius stared at me with a puzzled expression. "How do _you_ know?"

"I—uh—I'm not sure. It was like…a dream? I was knocked out and then all of a sudden…no. Never mind. It's crazy." And it was. It seemed like I'd woken up in Sirius' head, and it was like I _was_ him. I saw things from his eyes, I thought his thoughts, and I felt what he felt. But…it couldn't have happened in reality. It had to be a dream.

"Nike, everything concerning you is crazy, so spit it out," Remus said. As I looked at them, I knew they all would help. They were my friends; I could trust them. So I told them what I had experienced.

Remus, James, Lily, and Tonks listened quietly and carefully, making absolutely no expressions. Sirius, however, got paler and a little bit panicked. When I was done Lily said,

"Well, that all happened, but I didn't know any of the details and stuff you described. I mean, I don't know that much about Quidditch and so on."

"Huh. I don't know any of it except for the fact something hit my spine and almost broke it in two, which _really_ hurt," James said. He had a knowing look in his eyes, like he very well knew the mind of which I was speaking of. Despite the look, he said nothing.

"Visitors out please!" said a female voice from the back room. "Mr. Potter, Miss Nike, get back into bed. You'll stay here for a little while longer so I can make sure you're okay. If you're good, you should be out in time for the Hogsmeade visit tomorrow."

We listened to the nurse, and before they left, Lily smiled down at me and said,

"We'll figure it out. Don't worry about it, just rest and get better." Remus nodded his agreement.

Once they, along with the nurse after she'd finished fussing over us, had left, I sat up and looked over at James and Sirius expectantly.

"I knew you'd known I knew something," James said. "I had tried to fall asleep, but that's not happening."

"Let me guess; you wanted Sirius to be the one to open the discussion."

"Basically." We both looked at Sirius, who also was pretending to be asleep.

I grabbed a pillow from behind me and threw it at him hard, hitting him in his face.

"Thank you for that rude awakening," Sirius said, flinging it back at me, which I caught.

"Don't show off Miss Keeper," James said, smirking.

"I'm _not_."

"If you say so."

"_Okay_ then. I thought it was mine and Nike's job to argue over stupid things," Sirius said.

"Aw don't be jealous mate," James said, giving Sirius an innocent look.

"I'm _not_," Sirius replied.

"Don't copy my words of wisdom!" I exclaimed.

"I'm not," he repeated, mocking my angry expression.

"Ugh! You're impossible!"

"Yes I is!" he sang merrily. James and I rolled our eyes in unison at him.

"Did we win the match?" I changed the subject.

James grinned. "Of course. They should've known it takes more than a Bludger to keep _me_ from catching the Snitch!"

"He caught it as he fell, right before he lost consciousness," Sirius explained.

"That's amazing. Good job Prongs, I'm proud of you!" I said.

They both laughed, but I could both tell they were pretty proud of, regardless of what bad things had happened, how the day had turned out.

"Do any of you have the slightest clue as to what happened?"

"You, somehow, got into my mind," Sirius said after a moment.

"Oh."

"How come you didn't tell us you were mind reader too?" Sirius asked, pretending to be hurt at my absentmindedness. He also seemed a little...wary. Like he was waiting for me to call him out on something. But what, I wasn't sure.

"I don't think so…it seems more complex than that," I said, thinking about it.

"I'm pretty sure it's mind reading," Sirius insisted.

"No! It's not! I think _I'd_ know!"

"Obviously not! I think you're confused because it _is_ mind reading," he continued to argue.

"Sirius! No! It's _not_ mind reading!"

James chuckled. "Uh-huh. Arguing about pointless stuff like this, yes, that's definitely your guys' thing."

* * *

><p>Lights were out shortly after we'd just eaten. Sirius and James had been given a potion that made them pass out, and I'd been given the same thing, except it either hadn't worked or hadn't taken effect yet.<p>

"I need in to see her!" a voice was saying, getting angry. "You told me I couldn't come in earlier and to come back later, so now I'm here."

"She's asleep. She needs it to heal properly," the Healer's calm, tired voice said.

"Gary!" I exclaimed, sitting up in the bed.

"Nike?" I heard rushed feet. "Oh gods, you're okay." He sat down in the chair next to my bed and stared at me with a worried expression. Seconds later Madam Ashton and Austin came in.

"Out!" Madam Ashton hissed to the two boys.

"No! No. They're okay. Both of them," I said, quieting my voice. She gave me a reluctant look, but she went to her office.

"Five minutes," she called. "And then they're leaving."

"I'll take what I can get," I replied.

"She wouldn't let us in right after," Austin apologized. "Only Evans, Tonks, and Lupin. But I think it's because Lupin used a spell to."

"Did you hear what happened?"

"Yeah," Gary said. "All of it. Including your…experience."

"Who…?" I started to ask.

"Lupin. He found me during dinner and told me. He said he'd thought that you would've wanted me to know since I couldn't have been there sooner."

"I honestly tried to not listen to it," Austin murmured, looking down at his feet.

"No, it's fine. If Gary trusts you, then I do too." They both smiled at me appreciatively.

"It was Dominatrix, wasn't it?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yup. She was so damned happy about almost killing you," Austin scoffed.

"And then you know what she had the nerve of doing?" Gary asked. "She came up to us in the Great Hall, talking really bad about you and how weak you were and how better off we'd all be without you and how she'd done everyone such a good favor."

"Figures."

"Ha. I've never seen him so mad," Austin said, laughing quietly. "He almost knocked the whole table over. The only reason he didn't hex her was because Evans beat him to it. Got herself detention for it."

"Lily?" I repeated, astounded.

"I know! I had to do a double-take to make sure I wasn't seeing things. But it _was _Lily Evans who used some creative language and a pretty ugly spell, not Tonks, who I'd thought it would be," Gary said, smiling.

"_Lily _got _detention_?"

"Yeah, but only after everyone came out of their shock five minutes later, and after the whole thing they left to check on Black. The Headmaster gave her two weeks of detention starting after Christmas Break," Austin said, smirking. "And you know what happened then? She told him off and stormed out of the room. Tonks glared at the Headmaster, called him a few names, earned herself the same detention sentence, and followed after her with Lupin in tow. And there you have it, the show for the night."

"I missed out on a _lot, _didn't I?"

"You sure as hell did," Austin agreed.

"Time's up," Madam Ashton said, coming into the room with a tired look on her young face.

"You sure you're okay?" Gary asked.

"Absolutely. Thanks for checking in on me you two," I assured them. When they stood up, I stopped Gary. "Hey, umm, about the other day…I'm sorry about that. I should've let Sirius and James know about our friendship earlier that way they wouldn't have taken it all out on you in front of everyone."

"What was their problem anyways?" Austin asked while Gary said,

"They didn't let you have it, did they?"

"No, they didn't. They just let it slide seeing as they knew I was pissed at them," I answered Gary. "I think they thought you were using me, you know, to get in on out House secrets and what-not. They also are…protective…of me. All of them are. Don't take it personally because they don't trust anyone besides for our tight little group."

"I wouldn't—"

"I know you won't, and so does everyone else in our group except for Sirius and James. They're…they'll take some time. But they'll come around. Don't worry 'bout it." He looked liked he didn't believe me, but he nodded anyways.

"Night Keep," Gary said, squeezing my hand in a friendly gesture.

"Night Gary." I squeezed his hand back. "Night Austin."

"Get well soon girl," Austin said, and with that, they were gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Haha, I love Quidditch! Even if a Bludger to the face should've killed you or at the least knocked you out for days…whatever. Nike's different. So what? And James, getting one to the spine, well, he's tough too.**

**And Sirius is gonna take a plummet to the ground just fine, if you ask me. Not to mention the fact he and James both have the wonderful healing potions to help them live, right?**

**Next chapter: The Potters**

What's A Kammel-Monkey**: Damnit! If freakin' **_Can'tHideFromInsanity _**and **_midnight zoe _**can't keep their freakin' mouths shut I'm gonna hurt 'em! Shut-up guys! I don't want everyone to know what's gonna happen! ***growls* **Thank you, anyways, for your reviews. I'm glad you like Gary's character; I'm quite fond of him too. And, if you don't mind, anything that those two mentioned above tell you, please don't mention them in a review if it has yet to be mentioned in the chapters posted. That would be greatly appreciated.**

**Alright everyone! Let me know what you thought, and again, let me know if I can approve anything, especially with the whole Gary thing cause it kinda feels weird to me since he's commin' in AFTER I've already written all of this…but I promise in the next book he'll become a more prominent character and I won't feel weird or awkward when writing him since he'll be in the whole thing from the beginning. It's just that I came up with him last minute, and he'll have a HUGE part in the next book, so, that is my excuse. Please help if you feel it's needed!**

**Review and tell me what you think! Anything is appreciated! Please guys! I'm seein' TONS of hits and visitors and I have LOTS of people who've favorited and alerted this book, but I would REALLY love feedback! It sorta helps me write better. But, if not, thanks for reading anyways!**

**Nike**


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Twenty-two

Potter Manor

* * *

><p>Days flew by quickly, what with Hogsmeade visits (sneak-outs), Quidditch, classes, detention with Sirius and the House-elves, and spending time with my friends. James, out of nowhere for some reason (which I later found out was so Sirius could defend himself without magic) had asked me to teach him and Sirius how to fight physically without magic. So a couple nights a week on days I wasn't working with Gary, I'd work with them, and they were making a lot of progress. Soon the day everyone was supposed to leave for their homes came. In other words; it was Christmas Break.<p>

Luna, very discreetly, had been stressing for me to find somewhere to go. But no such thing had happened yet. I hadn't bothered to tell anybody because I hadn't wanted to bother them, and the only one of my friends who knew was Sirius since he was with me when Luna was, and he wasn't _completely _oblivious to the world.

I was sitting down in the Common Room, enjoying the heat that the fire offered. The snow outside was beautiful. It was flaky and crystal white. For the past week or two the Marauders, Lily, Tonks, and I had been out in the snow constantly, fooling around. And when I wasn't with them outside, I was with Gary, Austin, and a few other Ravenclaws. To tell the truth, I was gonna miss them while they were gone.

Out of nowhere I felt arms around my neck, and I was in a chokehold, the air leaving my lungs. Laughing internally, I reached around, grabbed the person's upper arms, and using the chair to help me, I flipped him over on his back on the floor.

I looked down at Sirius and grinned at his sprawled out figure. He was laughing.

"That was a little bit better, but you need t make sure they don't have enough air to be able to do what I did. Also, don't put yourself at a disadvantage, like you did with the chair. If they are anything like me, they'll know how to use their surroundings against you," I told him, offering him a hand to help him up.

"I'll remember that," he said, taking my hand. Instead of me helping him _up_, he yanked me _down_ and sat on top of me, pinning me to the floor.

"Better?" he asked innocently.

"Loads," I said, unable to keep a silly grin off my face. He was improving a lot. "Surprise can be helpful."

Someone coughed, and he looked behind him to see who it was. I shoved him off of me and put him in a proper chokehold. He tried to break free, but just couldn't do it. He coughed and hit my arm softly.

"Do you give up?" I asked.

No answer. I tightened my hold.

"What about now?"

"I—can't—breathe—" he managed to get out.

"That's kind of the purpose of a chokehold."

"I—give—up—You—win—" I let go of him and he regained his normal breathing pattern. I looked over at a smiling James, Tonks, and Remus, a frowning Lily, and a scared looking Peter.

"You could really hurt each other if you're not careful," Lily said concernedly.

"Nah, I won't hurt her," Sirius said, rubbing his neck.

Remus snorted. "You? Hurt _her_? Mate, she was talking about Nike hurting _you_ more than she already has."

"Are you kidding me? I let her win," Sirius protested, rubbing his neck that had red marks encircling it. "You know, to help build her self-esteem."

"Okay Sirius. If that's what you've got to tell yourself to keep moving on, we'll leave it at that," Tonks said, rolling her eyes.

"And her self-esteem doesn't need to be built any higher," Remus said, laughing. I noticed all of them had their trunks at their feet.

"You guys are leaving _now?"_

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," James said. "I'm really surprised Sirius listened and left it to me to tell you though."

"Hurry up James, I'm getting impatient. Two weeks was _way_ too long to keep a secret from her," Sirius said.

"Anyways, Sirius told us what Luna had said, and I asked my parents if you could stay with us for break. They said it was fine, so…do you want to come live with me for awhile?" James asked sincerely.

I smiled. "Thanks James! I'd love to! But I can't believe you waited so long to tell me. I've been dreading this moment forever."

He smiled back. "Well, I had other things to discuss with my parents, and they," he gestured at the others. "had to speak with theirs. But everyone's going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day at my house."

"Really?" I asked, my spirit soaring high.

"Really," Sirius said. "Now come on you guys before we miss the train!"

* * *

><p>The Hogwarts Express wasn't as bad as I'd remembered it being. I was able to sit in whatever compartment I chose, so I sat next to Sirius, James, and Lily, and across from Remus, Tonks, and Peter. The first half of the ride went by just fine. Sirius tried to offer me Berty Bott's Every Flavor beans, which I refused, and the others found it hilarious when Sirius told them about the first time I'd ever tried them. They took turns telling me what Christmas was, and James, Remus, and Sirius told us about James' house and everything around it. But with ten minutes left in the ride, things went downhill. Regulus, flanked by Malfoy and his cronies, stepped into our compartment without even knocking.<p>

Sirius and James stiffened beside me, Remus' eyes narrowed, and Peter hid his face.

"What do you want Regulus?" I asked curtly.

He smiled "sweetly" at me. "It's good to see you too Nike."

"I never said it was a good or nice thing," I snapped.

Regulus held up his hand, stopping Malfoy and his friends, who, for some odd reason that was unknown to me, still thought they could take me down.

"We're not here to fight. Yet," Regulus said to no one in particular. "I've come to deliver a message from home." His dark eyes locked on Sirius'. "Mum and Dad said you're to come home for Christmas Break. They said we've got some things to talk about." Sirius' face fell, something only James, Remus, and I noticed. Regulus' sneer just got larger.

"They just can't _wait_ to see you," Regulus said.

"Get out," I snapped, glaring at all of them. Regulus just smiled at me, and then he and his friends disappeared. Silence was left in their wake, broken by humorless laughter. It was Sirius.

"Well," he said dryly. "Christmas Break will be _tons_ of fun." And he was silent for the rest of the ride to the train station, occasionally chuckling at his own misfortune.

"James! Sirius!" a pretty, average height red haired blue eyed older woman called as we stepped off the train. She ran up to them and engulfed them in a hug. And when she saw Remus, she pulled him in too.

"My boys are back!" she said happily.

"Come off some Joyce, dear," a handsome older man that was tall and had jet black hair and glasses similar to James' covering his blue eyes said from where he stood behind the woman. I was going out on a limb here, but I'm pretty sure these people were James' parents. He easily resembled them.

Joyce sighed, but released the three boys. "Where's Peter?" she asked.

"He already left," Remus replied.

"At least we'll see him at Christmas," Joyce (Mrs. Potter) said. She looked behind the three Marauders and saw us girls.

"You must be Lily Evans," the man said.

Lily looked startled, but she said, "Yes sir."

He laughed at her expression. "You see, my dear, us male Potters have what I like to call a Potter Curse. We have messy hair that won't lie flat no matter what we try, and we fall hopelessly in love with girls that have red hair." James blushed and Lily blinked, dumbfounded, while the rest of us laughed.

"And you must be Tonks," Mr. Potter continued.

"You got my name right!" Tonks exclaimed.

"Remus warned us," Mrs. Potter said with a smile. Tonks raised an eyebrow at Remus, but he just shrugged, an embarrassed smiled on his face.

"And that means that you're the new edition," Mr. Potter said. "Nike."

"Yes sir," I replied.

"You just got here, correct?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"Yes ma'm."

"That's why we haven't heard too much of you," Mr. Potter said, giving me a warm smile. "I'm Harold Potter, and this is my wife, Joyce. To state the obvious, we're James' parents."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lily said.

"Ditto," Tonks agreed.

"I'm sure you'll probably get tired of me real quick," I said.

Sirius laughed. "Nike, you've forgotten; they live with me _and_ James and Remus for months at a time. And we can be worse at home than we are at school."

"Oh, right. I'm terribly sorry for your misfortune," I told Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

They laughed and Mr. Potter said, "I can see how you get along with our boys."

"Well, I hate to rush, but we best get going. We've got to get Nike settled in. We'll see you kids in a week, but until then, have fun!" Mrs. Potter said. Remus, Tonks, and Lily told us bye and left to search for their families.

"Come on you three," Mrs. Potter said. James and I exchanged glances.

"Umm…mum…" James trailed off, unable to finish.

"What is it?" Mr. Potter asked. James was at a loss for words, and Sirius was staring off into space. So that left me.

"Sirius can't," I said hesitantly, thinking my words through. "Regulus said…"

James' parents' faces fell. "Oh no," Mrs. Potter gasped.

"_Now_ what do they want?" Mr. Potter growled, his face turning into an angry mask.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Sirius grumbled. "I'll be home three days before Christmas Eve, when Remus usually shows up." I knew by '_home'_ he meant the Potters' house.

"Be careful Sirius," Mrs. Potter said, hugging him tightly. "Hopefully things won't be bad."

Sirius smiled at her worried expression. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself." Mrs. Potter released him and Mr. Potter hugged him too.

"You do that, son," he said. Sirius and James embraced, James muttering something in Sirius' ear. Sirius turned to me.

"Why does it seem like this is going to be the last time we see you alive?" I asked.

He gave me his usual cocky, arrogant smile. "That's just how the Potters are. You have nothing to worry 'bout 'cause I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me for life."

"Oh, _that's_ a reassuring thought," I teased.

"Depending on how you look at it," he said. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys later." He turned to leave.

"Sirius," Mrs. Potter said in a disciplinary tone. "Give your girlfriend a hug good-bye."

"_Mum…"_ James said, but Sirius smiled cockily, and followed her instructions.

"See you later Nik," he muttered.

"You certainly will," I replied, returning his hug. "Do me a favor though."

I felt him laugh. "What would that be?"

"Give Doughboy hell from me."

"I most certainly will."

* * *

><p>The Potters' house was <em>huge<em>. It was more of a castle than a house. Along the front of the house with a narrow path leading through the center of it to the door was a garden that reminded me of a forest. The flowers and bushes were very tall and were colored with almost neon and fluorescent colors, and it smelled so good walking down the earthen path. How they kept the gardens blooming and looking good in the middle of winter when lots of storms had already hit, I had no idea. But whatever it was they were doing, they were doing it well. Gargoyles stood guard on either side of the door, each taking the shape of a griffin. They stared menacingly straight forward. I glanced off to the left side of the house behind the garden and saw a massive crystal blue lake that currently had several layers of ice on the surface.

I imagine my expression was priceless because James laughed and said,

"You're going to freeze if you keep gaping at everything out here. Not to mention if you keep your mouth open ice will form inside your mouth." He peered closer. "Actually, I think there's already some in there." I snapped my mouth shut, which made him laugh.

"It's…amazing out here," I whispered, not quite able to find the words I wanted.

James chuckled. "Welcome to Potter Manor. Come on; let's get out of the cold." He picked up his trunk and led me inside.

My breath caught in my throat.

The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. It kind of reminded me of Hogwarts, actually. The floors were polished and everything had this antique feel to it. A crystal chandelier hung from the tall ceiling, its lights dimmed. On the other side of the colossal hallway were two long winding staircases. One was on the left; one was on the right, going up who-knows how high. Closer towards where we stood (right inside the door), were a couple of different rooms. To the left it was a cozy looking living room with an enormous fire-place that somehow warmed up the house, which in comparison to the house was teeny-tiny.

I poked my head in the room on the right and saw it was a dining room. Behind the long dark brown table that could easily seat at least thirty people was another door, which I would be willing to bet would lead to the kitchen.

"What do you think?" James asked as we were climbing up the stairs.

"Wow," I said stupidly.

He laughed. "Intelligent Nike. Real intelligent."

"James!" Mrs. Potter yelled from downstairs.

"Yes mum?" he replied.

"Have Nike pick out whichever room she wants! If she wants it, it's hers!" came the answer.

"Okay!" James smiled at me. "I think mum and dad like you."

"I can't see why."

"I can." We stepped on a landing which had, I kid you not, at _least_ forty-seven doors. "Mum and dad's room is on this level. Some of the rooms are vacant down here, but others are filled with stuff." I poked my head inside one of the doors and saw a whole bunch of shields, weapons, and armor, as well as practice dummies and a cleared space in the center.

"Cool," I muttered.

"Thought you'd gravitate towards that," James said. "You any good?"

"I've never touched any of these things…except for a knife," I replied.

"I'm sure in no time you'll be better than me, Sirius, and Remus combined. Maybe even better than my aunt."

"Your _aunt?"_

"Yeah. She's an expert. Competes in tournaments and such. Maybe this summer when she visits she can teach you some things."

"That'd be cool." I was thrilled. Already they wanted me to stay here with them during the summer too. This day was just too good to be true.

"Alright, come on. Let's go to the other rooms so you can get settled in." The third floor had a little bit less rooms than the second, but not much less.

"The next floor is the attic, where my room is," James said as I looked around. This floor was filled with Gryffindor colors and even had the Gryffindor crest skillfully painted on one wall.

"Your room is the _attic_?" I asked him, dumbfounded.

James shrugged. "It's the biggest bedroom in the house and it's quite nice."

"Oh. Makes sense then."

"Perfectly." He walked over to the door that was closest to the Gryffindor crest. "This is Sirius' room." He opened the door and stepped inside.

I hesitated. "Should we be going in there?"

James looked back and smirked. "I don't understand you. You seem like you could care less about anything and everything, yet you don't want to disrupt someone's _privacy_?" I didn't answer. He sighed. "Come on. He won't care; I mean it's just you and me. And if he does he'll just have to suck it up. There's nothing he can do about it. It's my house." I laughed and followed him inside.

Again, I was surprised at how _neat_ everything was. Who would have guessed Sirius Black was a neat-freak? His walls had some Gryffindor stuff on it, like banners and Quidditch stuff. Next to one Gryffindor Quidditch team banner were two Quidditch team photos that had mostly all familiar faces beaming and laughing back at me. I (surprisingly) didn't find it at all weird that the pictures were moving. I was becoming used to this wizarding world. His oak desk was pushed into a corner, which had a small bookshelf filled with books. They were thin, tiny books, but they were books.

"You mean Sirius actually _reads_?" I asked, amazed.

"Rarely, but yes," James said, trying to hide the smile on his face.

On either side of his bed was a table, both of which had pictures in frames placed on them. On one table was a picture of all the Marauders, laughing, probably at some prank they had just pulled or a joke one of them had just cracked. They seemed to be about twelve or so. On the other table was a picture of him and James in the summer, sitting beside each other next to the lake, their feet dangling in the crystal blue water. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. They both looked much like they did now, so this must've been taken last summer, after they'd both turned thirteen maybe.

"He seems so…happy," I said sadly. "Unguarded."

James' smile disappeared. "Yeah. Things have gotten pretty rough. That was taken before he had to leave for the summer."

"I wish he'd tell me what was up at least," I muttered to the picture of James and Sirius.

"Nike…I'm not trying to make excuses for him, but…I think he's scared to. Please don't tell him I said that; he'd have my head for me telling you that he might be scared."

"Why would _he_ be _scared_? Of what, exactly?" James sat in Sirius' desk chair, sighing.

"I think…" He trailed off.

"You think what?" I pressed.

"He doesn't want to lose you." James wouldn't look at me.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I think he thinks that when you find out, you're opinion of him, unless it's really bad already, will worsen, and then you'll…abandon…us."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"I don't know. He just doesn't want to take any chances. He has a hard time with trusting people…and in turn he thinks people have a hard time trusting him."

"What's so bad that he's got to hide from me that makes him think I'll actually _leave_ you guys?"

"I can't tell you. Believe me, I want to, but I can't."

"Okay. That's fine."

"Nike…don't be mad, and please don't ask him about it. He'll go…distant…again."

"I won't James," I promised.

I saw another door, so I went over, opened it, and found it was a closet. I was about to close the door, thinking I _probably_ shouldn't go through his stuff, when, as before in the wand shop, something caught my eye behind his dresser.

"James," I called. "Does your house have any secret passageways or rooms?" He came over to me, curious.

"Not that I know of. Why?"

Intrigued, I stepped inside the big closet and moved his tall dresser. Right behind it was a door. James stepped inside behind me and froze.

"How did you—? I've never seen—?" James couldn't seem to be capable of finishing a sentence.

"Did Sirius know this was here?" I asked.

"No. He would have told me."

"You want to check it out?"

"Do you seriously have to ask?" James asked in an offended tone.

"I can never be sure with you Marauders. You keep surprising me."

"Consider yourself one of us, because that's _exactly_ what you are."

"It's a dream come true!"

"We all know it. _Everybody_ wants to be like us and submitted into our elite group."

"Gods James. You're _way_ too much like Sirius for your own good!"

"Sad but true," he replied, sighing. "Or it could be vice-versa." He flashed me a pretend sad yet horrified look.

"Quit yer yapping and lets go," I said, opening the door and stepping inside.

"I'm _not_ completely like Sirius! I'm not a dog!" He made to follow me, but by some unseen force, the door slammed in his face.

"Ow! Damn Nike! What was that for?" he asked, his voice muffled.

"I didn't do it this time!"

"'This time'?" I heard his laugh. The door knob shook. "It's locked Nik."

"How?"

"I don't know. Just see if you can open it from your side."

"Okay." I followed his instructions, and the door _did_ open. But when I looked out, James was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Dun-dun-dun. Yeah, I know, retarded, but…whatever.**

**How do you like James' parents? I love 'em to death! They will definitely have to be frequent occurrences. And speaking of the Potters, how do you like their house? I'm not exactly sure what I picture it like…but then I do. What do you guys see it as? Any advice that I can use to better the picturing in your minds?**

**So, what do you think happened? Let me know!**

**Next chapter: Well, you'll see what's up, now won't you? ;)**

**R&R please! You'll forever be my favorite readers! And, again note that I'm updating a LOT quicker than I normally do! So if I start getting lots of reviews, we'll be done with this one and on to the next!**

**Until next time,**

**Nike **


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Twenty-three

Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

* * *

><p>"James?" I called.<p>

There was no answer.

"This is _not_ funny! You're reminding me even more of Sirius! If you turn into a stag and tackle me, I'll kill you."

Still no answer.

I looked around and noticed I wasn't in a closet, or Sirius' room for that matter.

The room was decorated similarly, but there were a couple more pictures. There was one of the Marauders, Sirius and Remus, past Quidditch teams, some people that I didn't recognize, and Lily, who was laughing at someone ahead of her. And from that one picture, I knew I was in James' room.

"What the—"

"Nike!" I heard James yell in a worried voice.

"Up here!" I yelled back.

Seconds later James was standing in his doorway.

"How did you—No way! Have you figured out how to Apparate?"

"No, and I don't plan to anytime soon, thanks to Weasley. One minute I was trying to open the door to let you in, and the next I'm in _here_. Nice room by the way."

"Thank you," James said as he walked into the room that I had just came out of. "Weird. It looks like a normal bedroom."

He was right. The room was bare, but it had all the basic living essentials, including a dark, midnight blue queen sized bed, two bedside tables, a desk, a bookshelf, a closet, a dark blue couch and, a small, circular table.

"I like it," I commented.

"You can have it then," James said simply. "It's so strange; I've never seen this room before. But yes, it is nice. Although I think that I'd—" The door slammed shut again. James and I exchanged wondering glances. He cautiously opened the door, and then turned around, looking at me with wide eyes.

"What's the matter?" I asked him.

"We—we're in Sirius' room," he stuttered.

I gave him a puzzled look. "What's the big deal? Weren't we already there? Maybe this room is like a moving stairwell between yours and his room."

"No. You don't understand." He took my hand and dragged me out of my room and into the other. This room was a mirror image of his other room, except it was smaller and everything was black. More Gryffindor appliances were hung too, as well as pictures of James, Remus, and Peter, along with stuff that was hand written, like _'Pure-bloods aren't pure!'_ and _'Only innocent lives!' _ The whole room had an almost evil feel to it.

"Where are we?" I asked him.

"I can't believe it. We're in Sirius' house," James said more to himself. "We've gotta get out of here," he said suddenly.

"What? Why?"

Before he could reply, I stepped out of Sirius' room and into a hall that had several other doors. It was extremely dark, barely any light visible.

"Nike!" James hissed from Sirius' room. "Get _back_ here." I was about to reply when the door next to Sirius' opened, and I came face to face with Regulus.

He shot me a startled look. "Nike!" he said pleasantly. "What are you doing here?" He flashed me a bright smile, which I ignored.

"Where's Sirius?" His smile faltered, but then it just got wider.

"He's in a meeting with our parents. Come on, I'll show you around until they're done. Then you can meet our wonderful parents."

"Back off Doughboy," James growled from behind me. Regulus froze; shock evident in his features.

"Potter," he said slowly. "How are you here? I thought we had spells to block you from ever coming back. I'd never thought you'd be the one to—"

"Be the one to what?" I snapped.

His normal sneer returned. "How very rude of me, keeping you two to myself. I shall announce your arrival." He opened his mouth to yell, but before he could get a sound out, James had knocked him out, using one of the moves I had taught him.

"You _are _learning something!" I said, giving him a high-five. "Good job, Prongsie!"

"Thanks," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Reg?" called a female, her voice muffled. The door on the other side of Sirius' opened, and out came Dominatrix.

Her eyes narrowed when she saw me and she fell into a crouch, the way she was poised reminding me of a lethal cat. I braced myself. Finally. Payback time.

"Come back for a second beating?" she asked, an evil and cruel smile on her face. "I enjoy it _so_ much."

"Ha. Too bad last time you did it in the way only a weak one would. Hexing? Please. A _first year_ could do better than that," I shot back.

Her body began to convulse with barely controlled rage. "When the time comes," she hissed. "I'll enjoy killing you."

"How are you going to do that? Bore me to death with your glares and talking? It's possible, but highly doubtful."

That set her off. A shift in her movement told me what she was going to do. She lunged and I ducked, which made her fly over my head. I turned before she could turn to face me and brought my foot down on her back. She crumpled and lay motionless on the floor.

"That seemed easy," James muttered.

_Too easy,_ I thought. Something wasn't right. The way she was breathing…

Her foot lashed out and I jumped, but she brought James down. Her eyes slitted and I could tell she would be more cautious this time.

"You've got some skill half-blood," she said. "We could use you."

"Oh, so now I'm a half-blood and not a muggle-born?" I rolled my eyes. "Forget it," I spat, and she started her attack. I let my instincts take over, not thinking at all. I evaded and blocked her attempted punches and kicks, and landed a few on her. We were getting closer and closer to a railing, and then with a hard shove, I pushed her over the side. Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she grabbed onto the railing. She let go, dropped, and landed in a crouch. She lifted her head up to glower at me, a wild and murderess look in her eyes.

And that's when the yelling began. A man was speaking softly yet in a vicious and very sarcastic way, while a woman was yelling her head off. Insults and curse words were being thrown around.

Dominatrix flashed me a smile and a look of pure hatred, and walked into a different room, the one next to the one where the yelling was coming from.

I looked back at James, who was pale and clenching his jaw and fists. I tuned into the voices and what exactly they were saying.

"You're a fucking disgrace!" came the man's cold, deep voice.

"No, I'm not," Sirius said, surprisingly really calm sounding.

"Don't talk back to me with your filthy lies," growled the man. "You should be a hell of a lot more like Regulus and Dominatrix!"

"Yeah, perfect Regulus. Never does anything wrong. In fact, did you know that he's not capable of it? I never would've known, but it's the truth!" Sirius said sarcastically. There was a loud sound and then a thud.

"Watch your damn mouth, you abomination," a woman snapped. It was the same voice that had screamed through the Howler. "You ruin our family's pure name, just like your namesake, you piece of shit. We should've known…you have his cursed blood! We had tried to see if we could get it out of you…but no. You are Sirius Orion Black through and through," she continued. "And we thought you couldn't drag us anymore in the dirt, what with you hanging out with half-breeds and pure-bloods who have damned themselves, yet you did! _Another_ half-breed? But not just any half-breed…it's Andromeda's _thing_! _And_ a _mud-blood_, the exact race of things that shouldn't exist in our world! You _disgust_ me!"

"Well, to tell the truth I'm glad we feel the same way about each other. But, I disagree with you. _Tonks_ isn't a _thing_, and _Lily_, even though she's muggle-born, is way better than _your_ people," Sirius snapped, his temper flaring.

"And there's one more thing," the man cut in. "This fucking wild child who prances around like she's a pureblood. Nike. Who is _she _and who are you to steal her from your brother? She belongs to him." There was a scrape of a chair and it sounded like several things were knocked over, including the man because he strung out more curse words.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about her like that!" Sirius yelled. "You have _no_ idea—"

"Crucio!" the woman yelled, and something hit the floor with a strangled cry. "You'll either change or die, boy."

James lept up and ran down the stairs, and I followed him because the look on his face struck fear in my heart.

James threw the door open, and froze, horrified. I pushed past him to see, and stopped dead. Sirius, who was one of the strongest-willed guys I'd ever met despite what I said, was on the floor, writhing, his face a mask of pain. He wasn't making a sound, but I couldn't stand to see him like that. It made rage and fear rise within me. I turned to face a woman that looked like Dominatrix, who seemed to be enjoying herself. Before I knew what I was doing, my wand was out and pointed at her, and I spoke words I'd never heard before.

"Imperio!" I yelled, and the woman froze, her wand dropped to the floor. Before the man could do something to me, James, or Sirius, I flung the woman at him and they both crashed into a wall.

James picked Sirius up and headed back up the stairs, walking at a brisk pace. But I didn't truly notice, at least it didn't register in my brain. My fury was still scolding-hot. I didn't know how, but thousands of spells flew into my head. I was just about to use another when James interuppted my train of thought.

"Nike!" James snapped before I let out another spell. "Come _on!"_

"Accio wands," I said, and two wands flew into my hand. I followed James up the stairs, dropped the wands over the railing, and stepped into my room, slamming the door shut, making the door rattle in its frame.

James had laid Sirius down on my bed, and he lay so still with his eyes closed I thought he was dead.

James was pacing, but he stopped when he saw me.

"Hey Nik…you need to calm down."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" I exploded. "Those damn bastards! They were going to kill him! They—they were _horrible!_ _Look_ at him James! They freakin' _abused_ him! Tell me you aren't freaking out!" I yelled, trying to keep my anger contained.

"Nike, please calm down. Yes, I'm pissed off at them, but I'm used to it. Although I have to say this time was worse." James' voice was so calm, and I tried not to let that fuel my anger any more.

"This happens _often_?" I demanded.

"Unfortunately. Most of the time they just beat him and whatnot, but never before have they used one of the Unforgivable Curses." James shuddered at the thought.

"Those people…" I made for the door.

"Nike. Please. _Don't."_

I froze in place, right at the door with my hand gripping the doorknob so tightly my knuckles turned white and both the knob and my hand was shaking. I sighed, releasing my grip, and slowly turned around.

"Sirius, you do realize that I can't live knowing they do this to you. They deserve worse than death. They deserve unbearable pain, and they deserve to suffer."

Sirius smiled slyly. "Well I think they've suffered a little bit knowing that you beat them at their own game."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped, not liking that fact that he was referring I was _anything _like those...horrible _things_, for lack of a better word.

"You used an Unforgivable Curse on them. Well, on my mother, but my father felt it too."

"What the hell is an Unforgivable Curse?"

"It's…hard to explain. But there's the Cruciatus Curse, Imperius Curse, and the Killing Curse. The Cruciatus Curse causes immense pain. The Imperius Curse makes it so the victim or victims do whatever the tormentor pleases. And, as the name implies, the Killing Curse will kill," James explained.

"So I just…"

"Yeah. Thank the gods for you Nike. Your first huge spell and it's an Unforgivable Curse against my parents," Sirius said, laughing. And I could see it from the look in his eyes; his secret was out, and he wouldn't be that guarded ever again.

I couldn't help but return his smile.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, I felt it was a short chapter too, but I loved it. There was so much happening. I hate to admit it, but I enjoyed the part with Sirius' parents. I love writing about evil characters, even if they do mess with the one I love. Dominatrix, if you didn't know, is Sirius' cousin, but she lives with them because her parents are currently M.I.A. Andromeda (who in this case is Sirius' cousin who is twenty-nine or so) is not the same Andromeda (as in the original Nymphadora Tonks' mum). She's not still alive, but she is…well, you'll see later on. If you have any questions or whatever, let me know.**

**Thank you to my two reviewers!**

Pikachucat**:** **Thanks! Glad you think so!**

Daughter of Chaos 98**: Eh…not quite. You'll see later on what I mean if you stick around. :) Thanks for the review!**

**So what did you think of this chapter? Did you like it? Hate it? Kinda felt, "uh, eh…" 'bout it? Let me know! What do you think will happen next? Any guesses? Let me know! I have open ears for you guys!**

**Next chapter: Haha! You will NOT expect this, trust me! It's SOOO un-Nike like!**

**R&R please!**

**Nike**


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Twenty-four

My First Shopping Spree (Oh, joy...)

* * *

><p>The Potters were furious with the Blacks, but were happy that Sirius was safe. They were curious, however, as to how we got there. So the next day we showed them, and they were thrilled and intrigued as to how <em>I <em>was able to find it. They had tried to get the room to work on their own...but apparently it didn't work for any of them, only me.

The days past surprisingly really quick. I found that James' parents were just as much of pranksters as he was. I learned more about James and his parents, which, in turn, made me like them even more (which I hadn't thought was possible to tell the truth). Remus had showed up a couple days ago and it was like a hole was filled in their house. Everyone seemed so comfortable, like this was how they lived. There was family teasing and caring and all of that, yet the boys were more respectful and, in a way, more _loving_ (hard to believe, I know) than I had ever seen them before. And I was happy to find that they all treated me like I belonged. And, strange enough, my cold heart seemed to have thawed some.

Currently we were outside having a non-magical snowball fight; the three Marauders vs. me and Mr. and Mrs. Potter. So far, we had the upper hand. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were great and had really good reflexes, especially from them (and they had told me openly) being sixty-two years old (yes, it had been a surprise for me too because they looked to be in their early thirties or late twenties). They were also Aurors, and they were some I liked. Like Weasley and Adda, they weren't stuck-up and didn't think they were better than everyone else.

We launched snowball after snowball at the Marauders, who were retreating into the trees. Then we lost sight of them. Mr. and Mrs. Potter froze, listening.

"They're plotting," Mr. Potter said.

I chuckled softly. "Aren't they always?"

"Good point," he said with a grin.

"They're going to plan an attack. They think that we're confident with our current position," Mrs. Potter whispered, her eyes alight with excitement. "So, it's simple. We attack first." They both looked at me to see what I thought, as they had done a lot when we worked together against the Marauders. I had my suspicions that they were seeing what skills I had. They, too, might have thought my future profession should be an Auror, I thought. It wasn't bothering me as much as it would have, say, four months ago.

"Sounds good," I said. "You two spilt up and sneak in from the sides. I'll come from the front. They'll think one of two things; I'm switching sides for excitement or that I've come to finish them off on my own."

They nodded and stealthily took off into the woods. I followed the path of the Marauders and listened intently. I heard whispering, so I quietly followed the voices. I peeked around a tree and I saw the three with their backs to me, knelt on the ground and drawing something in the snow. I crouched, and then jumped onto Remus' back, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.

"Argh!" he yelled, falling on his face. "Holy crap! Sirius! I'm on your side, you prick!" He rolled over onto his back, pinning me in the snow. But I wouldn't let go. By now he knew it wasn't Sirius who had ambushed him, and my plan wasn't working how I had planned it to, but I'd make it work.

Remus was lifted out of the snow, me still clinging to him.

When James saw this, he started cracking up.

"Why is it when she does something I always get blamed for it first?" Sirius asked, pouting. He bent over, made a tightly packed snowball, and threw it at me. But I used Remus as a shield and it hit him right in the face.

"Aw! Come on Moony! Don't take that from him," I whispered softly in his ear. Remus laughed, took me off his back, and tossed me lightly into the snow.

"I won't switch that easily," he smirked. Together, the three marauders pelted me with snow. Soon there was a huge pile of snow with me in the center of it, not fighting back at all. We were all laughing.

James came forward and knocked on the snow-like home. "Anyone there?"

And that's when his parents attacked. I burst out of my blanket of snow, and as a team, we took the Marauders down.

"I should think we have won," Mr. Potter said as the boys brushed the snow off them, gasping and sputtering for air.

"Take that suckers!" I laughed.

"You tricked us!" James accused.

"No, I _distracted_ you," I corrected. "As was planned. All along."

"Come on kids, let's go warm up," Mrs. Potter said, knowing this could turn into an all day argument full of pranks, tricks, etc. All of the norm.

* * *

><p>"I thought you were brilliant," Remus commented as we were drinking our hot chocolate.<p>

"We should have known you went down too easy," Sirius said.

"Key words are 'should have'." I smirked.

"Nike dear," Mrs. Potter said, poking her head out of the kitchen.

"Yes Mrs. Potter?" She sighed at me. I guess she thought 'Mrs. Potter' was too formal. Same with Mr. Potter, except, you know, using the term _mister_.

"I was thinking of taking you shopping. You have hardly anything at all, and not to mention it's Christmas in a couple of days."

I choked on my hot chocolate and the boys snickered, earning a glare from me.

"Sh–shopping?" I managed to get out.

"Yes, just the two of us. We can have some girl time away from all of them." Even by now Mr. Potter was smiling at my discomfort. Mrs. Potter, however, seemed oblivious to it.

"I–I—" I knew I would have to go because the look in her eyes was so hopeful I didn't have the heart to decline. I took a deep breath, wondering why I had to like these people so much. "When are we going?"

She smiled widely. "Right after lunch." And with that she went back into the kitchen to start lunch, with a _very_ happy smile on her face.

"Softy," Sirius muttered. I kicked him. Hard. "_Ow!"_

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that _your_ leg?" I asked sweetly. The others laughed.

"You know," James said. "If you don't want to go you can just tell her. No one is saying you absolutely have to."

"Joyce is just happy to have another girl in the house," Mr. Potter agreed.

"No, it's okay. I guess I've got to act like a girl _sometimes_."

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but I silenced him with another kick.

"You never know," Remus said seriously. "It might be fun."

"Do _you_ have shopping experiences?" I teased.

"Yes, actually. My mum makes me go with her every now and then. _I_ wouldn't call it fun, but I pretend to enjoy it for her sake."

"Thanks for the confidence booster there Remus," I muttered.

"Any time for you Nike."

* * *

><p>"It's nice to have a change in company," Mrs. Potter said as we walked through the snow covered streets of Diagon Alley. Today there were tons of people about, making my last visit here seem so different.<p>

"Does James go with you?" I asked.

She laughed. "Uh, no. Peter does occasionally though."

"That's, umm, nice of him?" I said, choosing my words carefully.

"Yes, it is. He's a sweet boy," she said. "Anyways, what kind of clothes do you like to wear?"

"Umm…"

"That's what I thought," she said, sighing. "Well, we'll start with colors and go from there." She dragged me into this store that was _filled_ with clothing and shoes. I tried not to gag.

"White would really bring out your skin," she commented, more to herself, I think.

A short pretty redheaded witch that had light blue eyes glanced over and gasped. "You have the most _beautiful_ tan skin I've ever seen!"

"Uh…thanks?"

"Do you need help finding anything?" she asked. "My name is Molly Prewitt, I'm the assistant manager here." She took a closer look at me. "Nike, right? Lily Evan's best friend? It has to be you."

"Yeah, that would be me. This is—"

"Mrs. Potter. Yeah, I know. She's in here frequently." Molly laughed. "I don't think you've seen me because I'm in my fifth year, but I'm a Gryffindor." I nodded in understanding. "Well then, is the tomboy ready for some clothes then?" she asked with a huge smile, earning a confused look from me. "Lily and I are fairly close and she's told me a lot a about you. But that's beside the point. Joyce, we finally have our work cut out for us!"

"I was thinking…for sure she needs shoes. Poor Tonks will probably want her tennis shoes back."

"Definitely," Molly said, nodding in thought.

"She'll also needs an assortment of shirts, sweaters, pants, dresses—"

"Whoa! Wait!" I cut in. "_Dresses?_ Please tell me you're kidding."

"No. Trust me; you'll be wanting at _least_ one when you get around my age. Probably even by next year," Molly said.

They drug me around the store having me try on countless amounts of things in all color schemes. There were those that brought out my ever changing sapphire blue and acid green eyes. There were others that went great with my extremely tan skin. Some went "perfect" with my completely straight and long golden brown hair that had a darker brown streaks mixed in. I had cut my hair personally with a knife in the woods all that time ago, so it was different lengths and jagged at the ends, giving my hair an odd and unique look. And then when we got to the dresses, they picked out ones that showed off all of that and, as a needed thing, Molly had said, my curves.

"I really don't like dresses, if anyone cares to know," I muttered for the thousandth time.

"But you'll look _great_," Molly protested. She held up a mid-thigh length dark pink dress that had an even darker shade blended in with it. "Oh Merlin. This was made for you Nike," she breathed, holding it out for me to look at. I had to admit, it was pretty. Except for…

"It's pink," I said.

"Yeah."

"No. You don't get it. This is _pink_."

"But this contrasted with the color of your skin…" Molly held the fabric near me while I went stiff, horrified that the ghastly color was almost touching me.

"Brilliant," Mrs. Potter said. "Just _one _pink piece. Please Nike? Just _one_?"

I looked between her and Molly and then back again, and then I slumped my shoulders in defeat. _Wonderful._

"Fine," I said for the millionth time. Like what I said mattered though. Because if they thought it looked good on me, they were getting it (most likely). "Are we done?" I asked hopefully.

Mrs. Potter looked at her watch and sighed. "I suppose so…you've still got to do Christmas shopping…" It then donned on me.

"Oh crap. Umm…I don't have any money." I was truly embarrassed. Even if it was just clothes. All of that…_torment_…to have _this_ happen… Not to mention Mrs. Potter would be heartbroken; she'd been having a lot of fun, I could tell. And I did have to admit it was sorta nice spending time with someone who...I guess, could be a mom to me. That was hard to admit to myself, but it was true.

Mrs. Potter just laughed. "Don't worry about it. Even if you did have money you wouldn't have bought any of it. You're my only daughter, so think nothing of it," she said before I could protest. I just sighed. It was absolutely _no use_ arguing with her. She was stubborn, like James.

"Good-bye Joyce! Good-bye Nike!" Molly said after Mrs. Potter had finished paying for everything. "I'll see you at school. Promise."

"It was nice to meet you Molly," I said. "Happy Christmas!"

"You too!" she called as we walked out into the snow.

"So…" I said. "How's Christmas shopping done?"

Mrs. Potter smiled. "Let's not keep your curiosity burning then." And with that we were off. Again.

* * *

><p>"I see you're still as sane as you were when you left," Sirius said as we walked through the door.<p>

"Haha. You're very funny," I said.

"I'll take these to your room," Mrs. Potter said, taking the bags that I carried from me. She smiled warmly at me and then disappeared into thin air.

"Mum didn't bother you too much did she?" James asked.

"No. After she and Molly finished clothes shopping your mum took me Christmas shopping for you guys. And that was actually kind of fun."

"Ooo…what'd you get me?" Sirius asked, jumping onto the arm of my chair that I plopped into.

"You? Absolutely nothing," I teased.

"Well I'm returning your gift then," he pouted, leaning back.

Remus smirked. "Did Mrs. Potter—I mean, _mum _number two—tell you that you weren't supposed to tell?"

"Yep!"

Sirius groaned. "She's just _trying _to ruin all of our fun."

"Don't worry Padfoot," I said. "There's only two more days until Christmas."

"I don't think I can wait that long." Sirius sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: We got two chapters up this time because of my deal, remember? :)**

**Well…I sorta described what Nike looked like in this chapter, but I would LOVE to hear how you guys picture her! You see, I'm extremely excited for this whole story-cover-thing, and I'm trying to get a friend to make a cover for me, but I gotta figure out how Nike looks, and I wanna hear YOUR ideas! So let me know through a review or PM me! **

**SNOWBALL FIGHTS! My FAVORITE thing to do in the winter! **

**Nike shopping is much like me shopping. I could care less, and I just wish it would be over with. Unless it's for books, of course! ;)**

**Yes, there will be more of Arthur and Molly, showing a friendship between the (future) Weasleys and our little group (adding to the bit we'll get from Weasley and Adda).**

**Alright! So please answer my questions, guys! Oh! And drop a review! Please?**

**Nike**


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Twenty-five

My First Christmas

* * *

><p>"Nike! Get <em>up<em>!" someone yelled. I groaned, rolled over, and covered my head with my pillow.

"_Niiikkkeee!"_ The voice was closer, probably right above me.

"Go away," I mumbled, my voice coming out muffled.

All of a sudden my pillow was lifted off my head and the blankets were thrown off.

"_Get up!"_

"No!" I curled into a ball, blocking out the light. I was determined to get my well-earned sleep. The next thing that happened I didn't see coming. I was lifted up out of my bed, thrown over someone's shoulder, and was being carried down the stairs.

I opened my eyes and glared at his back. "Sirius Black, put me down this instant."

"Mornin' sunshine," he replied.

"Sirius! I told you to go _see_ if she was up!" Mrs. Potter scolded him as he came down the stairs.

"Well, she's up," he replied with a smile.

"Ugh!" she grumbled, handing Mr. Potter his coffee and sitting down next to him.

James and Remus smirked while Tonks tried not to laugh and Lily gave me a sympathetic look.

Sirius threw me down next to James on the couch and sat on the other side of me, beaming.

"There better be a good reason for you dragging me out of bed, Black," I said.

"It's Christmas," he said simply, as if that was the best reason in the whole world.

"So you're supposed to get up at…"

"Seven fifteen," Remus supplied.

"Seven fifteen on Christmas morning?" I asked.

"Yeah," James said, shrugging.

"Sometimes even earlier," Sirius agreed. "Besides! You actually _like _to get up early!"

"Where's Peter?" Mrs. Potter said suddenly.

"Asleep," James said.

"Oh, so you'll let _him_ sleep in but not _me_?"

"Payback for that one day sister. At least I didn't throw you out the window," he retorted.

"If she's your sister mate then that means she's off limits," Remus muttered, getting a glare from Sirius.

"_That's_ a story I want to hear," Mr. Potter said. "It sounds like you're more like the boys than we thought."

"You have _no_ idea," the three said at the same time.

"James, go get Peter," Mrs. Potter said. "before Sirius loses what little patience he has left." James ran up the stairs. Lily scooted over and took James' spot next to me.

"Good morning Nik," she said, hugging me.

"You too Lil," I replied.

"You'll enjoy Christmas," Tonks piped up from beside Remus. "It's actually fun. Especially when you have me and Lily here to celebrate it with you."

I chuckled. "Couldn't picture it any other way." Just then James appeared with a sleepy-eyed Peter.

"Alright!" Mrs. Potter said. "I think Nike should open the first present."

"I'll hand presents out," Lily offered, jumping up from the couch.

"You're a good girl," Mrs. Potter said. "James couldn't have chosen any better." Both Lily and James blushed, but each said nothing.

Lily picked up a red present from under the tree and handed it to me.

"S'from me!" Tonks exclaimed happily, barely able to keep herself in her seat.

"It's very pretty paper Tonks," I said truthfully. For some odd reason, everyone laughed really hard at that, even Peter. I just sat there, confused.

"Well," Sirius said finally. "We all know you're a genius and all that…"

"Sirius! Be nice! It's _Christmas_," Mrs. Potter said through her laughs.

"...but you're supposed to open it," Sirius explained.

"That explains a lot," I said sarcastically. Sirius reached across me and tore at the paper, ripping it, revealing something black.

"Now you take it _out_ of the paper and see what it is," Sirius finished explaining.

I took it out and it unfolded, revealing a very long black coat that would probably even drag the ground on _me_.

"It's a trench coat," Tonks said, unable to keep her mouth shut. "They're very comfortable and useful. Not to mention it will probably make you even more intimidating. With looks, anyways."

"Like that's something she needs to be," James muttered jokingly.

"Thanks Tonks!" I said, ignoring James' comment. "I love it!" And I really did. At school the teachers would probably be fighting with me because I would be in my trench coat instead of my robes. I liked it that much. Tonks, who was thinking the same as me, and I smiled at the thought.

Lily then tossed one at James. James looked at the tag and then looked up, stunned.

"_You_ actually got _me_ something? You know you didn't have to."

Lily avoided his gaze. "I know. Just open it Potter."

Smirking, James did as he was told. Inside was a couple of books, one about the best pranks of all times and the other about Quidditch. There was also some Honeydukes candy too. James' face was _priceless_.

"Th–thanks," he stuttered. "I didn't think…"

"I listen to you sometimes when you talk," Lily teased.

"Okkaayy lovebirds," Sirius said. "Some of us want to see what else is under that tree." Sirius received glares from everyone in the room except the adults, who chuckled.

"I'm just sayin," Sirius grumbled.

"Here Tonks," Lily said. "It's from Nike." Tonks, mocking me, I'm sure, very slowly and awkwardly opened the package and pulled out a black bracelet that said _Best Commentator in the World_ on it. She laughed joyously.

"Glad you think so Nik!" she said.

"It'll help with your balance and coordination too, I made sure I added that. And if you want the words change, tap it with your wand saying what you want it to say, and it'll change, right before your eyes, like magic," I said, grinning.

Tonks stared at me openmouthed. "You _made_ this?"

"Well yeah—"

Tonks threw her arms around me. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she exclaimed.

"No—problem—" I got out. "Can't—breathe—"

"Right. Sorry," she said, sitting on the arm of the chair that Remus was in, putting her bracelet on.

An hour later I had gotten a bunch of really great stuff from my "family", and they in turn had gotten really great stuff (including from me). Two of my favorite gifts I'd picked out had been the potions set, book, and ingredients I'd gotten for Lily, and a book of extremely rare and complicated potions for Remus, which included a potion and the ingredients for the potion that would keep him sane during the full moon. I also liked how I'd wrapped James' present; when he'd untied the ribbon and lifted the lid, it had exploded in his face. We'd all gotten a good laugh at that. Now, there were only three presents left.

"They're all for…Nike," Lily said, glancing at the tags. She tossed one to me, which, of course, I caught easily. It was from Sirius. I glanced at him, but he wasn't looking at me. Strange…

"If I open it, what's going to pop out and bite me?" I asked. James snickered and Remus tried to hide his smile. _They_ obviously knew what was in the small package.

Sirius rolled his eyes at me. "I don't know. Your worst fear _ever_."

I'm sure I paled a little bit. "How do you know…"

"Oh, so you _are_ afraid of something?" he taunted.

"Well, yes, actually," I muttered.

"What is it?" James asked eagerly. I glared at him.

"C'mon Nik. You can trust us. We're all friends and family here," Remus said, knowing _exactly_ what buttons to push.

"Spiders," I grumbled softly.

"_What_ did you just say?" Sirius asked, leaning in closer to me.

"Well, if you must know," I whispered softly into his ear. "_SPIDERS!"_ I replaced my soft whisper with a loud scream. He jumped and leaned away.

"Gods girl!" he exclaimed, covering his ears. "What'd you do that for?" The others were laughing, not at me for my fear, but at Sirius for, well, being Sirius.

"_You_ are afraid of _spiders_?" James laughed.

"Yeah. Got a problem with it?" I demanded, pouting.

"No…but you being you and…who you are…I never would have guessed," he replied, shrugging.

"Open your present Nike before Sirius decides to take it back," Lily warned, trying not to smile.

"Yeah, 'cause you never know…you might like what's inside," Tonks said.

"Right," I said, and I carefully tore at the wrapping, still afraid something was going to jump out at me (like spiders…ugh, I'm shuddering inwardly at the thought!). I was amazed at what I found inside. It was a silver necklace that had a thick circular pendant attached on it. Swirling designs etched in black covered the surface, and right in the middle, a dagger or sword seemed to be stabbing downwards through it all. It was beautiful.

"It's a locket!" Lily gasped to Tonks, louder than she'd meant to be.

"In a way—" Remus started to say.

"Ssh!" James cut his friend off. "Let Sirius explain. This could be interesting."

"Well, umm…" Sirius fidgeted with the paper that had covered the black box that the locket had been in. "It, um, Remus, James, and I put an enchantment on it…and you still put pictures in it…it's just whosever picture is inside of it…the pictures, when you want it to, will morph into the image of the person as they are then…and you'll be able to talk to them, as well as see them. It…uh, the person or people will feel this tugging sensation in their minds, and they'll kind of here your voice calling to them…and then part or all of their minds will be drug into the conversation; them seeing you _through_ the locket and you seeing them _in_ the locket."

There was absolute silence.

Sirius, who had been looking everywhere but at me, finally made himself look me in the eyes. As soon as he did, I jumped on him and gave him a huge hug.

"Thanks so much Sirius! It's amazing!" I whispered to him. "I never knew something like that was possible…or that you could make it for that matter…"

He chuckled. "We're both full of surprises, aren't we?"

"I guess so." I sat back next to him, smiling up at him.

"Here, let me." He took the necklace from my hands and fastened it around my neck. "Uh, you look…nice."

James, Remus, and Tonks laughed while Lily raised her eyebrows. But they all said nothing, including Mr. and Mrs. Potter who exchanged smiles. Peter just stared at us in awe.

I'm pretty sure I blushed, although I don't know why. He was just trying to be nice for once…

"Ahem," Tonks coughed. "I really hate to interrupt…but you have two more gifts here Mrs. Bl—" Her words were cut off when a pillow hit her in her face. Surprisingly, or should I say _not_ so surprisingly, it was me who threw it.

"Oooo, this one's from your other boyfriend Nik!" Lily said, smiling slyly.

"Gary?" I asked, groaning. "I'd told him _not _to get me anything!"

"Did you get _him _something?" Tonks asked.

"Umm…"

"Did he tell _you _not to?" Lily questioned.

"Umm…"

"Well there you have it," Tonks said, leaning back on the chair arm that she sat on. "Now open it so you can see what you have to kill Napier over."

I reluctantly opened that package and took out—

"Oh Merlin! Is that what I think it is?" Tonks and James exclaimed at the same time, jumping to their feet.

"Is that a ticket for a professional Quidditch game this summer?" James asked.

"For who?"

"Greece and…the U.S.?"

"That should be a _great _game!" Tonks said dreamily. "I've been wanting to go… You're _so _lucky."

"What's the U.S.?" I asked.

"Another country overseas. They've got a pretty good Quidditch team for just being introduced to the world professional league a few years ago," James, the Quidditch brainiac, said.

"And I get to go to the game? This summer?" I asked.

"That's what it looks like!" Tonks said, excited. "You get to go to Greece to see it! It's gonna nominate who gets to go in the World Cup next summer!"

"World Cup?"

"Only the _best _Quidditch teams with the _best _Quidditch players get to compete against each other for the title of the best in the world," James said, sighing dreamily.

"And I get to go?"

"Obviously. You and Napier both," Tonks said. "Man, I wish he was _my _friend."

"Okay, well, moving on," Sirius said, grinning slightly.

Lily handed me the last present stiffly, the gentle and excited smile gone from her face. I froze in shock when I saw who it was from.

Regulus A. Black

James, aside from Lily and me, was the first person to notice we both seemed grim, and who the package was from. And he noticed this all through his Quidditch World Cup dreaming haze. Scary, huh?

"What. The. _Hell!"_ he yelled.

"_James_," his parents snapped.

"Sorry," he muttered, but he'd gotten everyone else's attention.

Sirius snatched the package away from me. "Oh Merlin," he said. "Please don't let this be what I think it is." He looked at me. "Do you mind if I open it for you…just in case my suspicions are right."

"S–sure," I stuttered, warily handing it over. Sirius tore through the paper, opened a box, and there laid an emerald green stone with the Black Family Crest (which was a black shield with two greyhounds rampant charged with a white v-shaped symbol, two five-pointed stars, a short sword, and at the bottom of the shield written in a curved banner were the French words _Toujours pur_ ) carved into it.

"The bastard! What game does he think he's playing?" Sirius looked at James, and then at Remus. Peter cowered at the anger in his voice while Mr. and Mrs. Potter decided that was the time to 'go start breakfast'.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked. "Besides for the fact that it's from Regulus."

"It–it's a pureblood tradition that when you ask a girl you really like or might even love out that you give them a stone or jewel that has your family crest carved into it. When and if, although it's always almost most likely, they get married, the girl gives the stone or jewel back and it's made into a ring. But the thing is," Sirius continued when Lily started to say 'Well that's not too bad then, she could always say no…'. "Once she touches it, she'll be doomed to Regulus. That's the twist to it. Once the 'victim', in this case, no offense Nik, touches it, there's like this…contract. She'll have to stay with him, unless, and I can guarantee you this wouldn't happen with him, he takes it back from her, breaking it off."

"Holy fucking _crap_," Tonks muttered.

"Hey! Language in there!" Mrs. Potter called from the kitchen in a stern voice. Everybody trailed off, lost in their own thoughts.

"Lily, can I talk to you alone, for a minute?" James asked suddenly, looking a bit nervous.

Lily looked startled, but she said, "Uh, sure. We won't miss anything. Nike isn't going to agree to go with that monster."

"Right," I said as they walked out of the house. "Lighten up some Sirius. It's never gonna happen with me and your brother, okay?"

He smiled cockily. "But of course. Especially when there's much _better_ choices around here."

"Actually…give me that rock Sirius. I may have changed my mind…" I said, reaching for the stone.

Sirius, taking me completely serious, jumped up and threw it in the fire. Everyone watched it get hotter and hotter, until, strangely, it exploded.

"Much better," Sirius sighed, sitting back down on the couch. Just then the front door opened and Lily came in, flushed, with James right behind her, a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Wh—"

Lily looked at me, and then at Tonks, and then said, "James Potter just asked me out." Remus and Sirius didn't look surprised, but Tonks and I were.

"James, give it a rest," Tonks groaned. "It's _Christmas,_ for crying-out-loud!"

"What'd you say Evans?" Sirius asked, a bored look on his face. Remus looked sympathetic.

"Well, I kinda…said…" Her face broke into the biggest grin I'd ever seen on her face. "…yes."

There was silence, and then Sirius and Remus started yelling at the same time at James (although I understood none of it because I was lost in my own thoughts), Peter clapped his hands and smiled, and Tonks jumped up and stared at Lily like she was on crack.

"He gave me a promise ring and everything," Lily was telling Tonks and me excitedly, holding out her left hand so we could see a dark purple stone encased in a gold band. Looking at the ring, Lily, and then James, I was amazed.

"Sorry, what was that Nike?" Remus asked, turning away from James to glance at me.

I grinned wickedly at James, and then at Lily. "I said…there really are Christmas miracles."

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><p><strong>AN: Well, this was fun to write! Yes, I know, I know, James and Lily originally never dated until seventh year and blah blah blah… But remember; this ISN'T the original story, and it also DOESN'T follow along with how everything went.**

**Anyways…my thank-you's for reviewing:**

Daughter of Chaos 98**: Thank you SOO much for your two reviews! Everybody better thank her for these two chapters! **

**Anyways… Yes, it's like a magical passageway…but no. See…when Nike is around magical objects that have, say, been dormant or even put out so they can't be used again, the magic that was once inside the object(s) will flare up and become active again. I'm not going to explain more than that, but I didn't want you to be too confused (even though my explanation probably just confused you even more!)**

**And I KNOW! I absolutely HATE shopping AND the color pink! Haha, we're alike, me, you, and Nik! ;) Thanks for the reviews! **

**So, everybody else out there who I KNOW is reading and not reviewing, think about this: it's not really fair to me if I put chapters up for all of you (well…and for me, but that's beside the point), and not even half of you review. C'mon! We're nearing the end of this book! I don't care what you say! Just leave a review telling me SOMETHING! Thanks! XD**

**Nike**


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created. **

Chapter Twenty-six

New Year's Eve (Part One)

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><p>"Erm…James? Why's your mum going on a cleaning-frenzy?"<p>

James lifted his plate up as his mum, once again, ran a sponge over the countertops. He rolled his eyes, and I wasn't sure if it was directed at me or his mother.

"Of course you wouldn't know," he said, sighing as he put his plate and fork down. "Today's New Year's Eve, therefore tonight's New Year's."

I blinked at him, then turned to Sirius. "Eh?"

"The marking of a new year," he said through a full mouth of food, which he continued shoveling full.

I scrunched up my nose in distaste; boys were gross. "And the importance of that is…?"

"It's just the new year, Nik. We celebrate it. Everyone around the world does. It's tradition," James explained. "And we always go to a New Year's Eve party, and this year happens to be our turn to host it, so mum's nervous about living up to past standards."

"Ooohhh…"

"Yeeaahh…" James said, mocking my tone. "Now if you'll excuse us, we've got some food to eat."

"Fine," I snapped, jumping down from the high bar stools. I walked outside to the garden area and found Mr. Potter crouched there, sorting through what I assumed were decorations.

"Hi."

"Hi," he replied, looking up from the massive tangled mess. "What'cha need?"

"Nothin'. Just wonderin' if you needed any help, is all. Looks like you're having a hard time."

"I'm not sure you can help with this; two people just might make a bigger mess. This stuff's been up in the attic for years," he said, leaning back on the balls of his feet.

"Why not just use magic?" To me, that seemed like the most logical thing to do.

Mr. Potter shrugged. "Joyce wants us setting an 'example' for James, so no magic in the house while he's around til he's seventeen."

I snorted. "Well I never agreed to such a thing. Mind your fingers."

Before he could protest, I focused on the pile in front of me, and in my mind I saw everything sort themselves out, laying side by side on the ground in neat piles according to what they were. As I was thinking it, the scene in my head became reality, playing out in front of me. Within seconds, the pile that would take an hour to organize was as good as new.

He shook his head at me. "You probably shouldn't have done that."

I looked around me, then shrugged. "Oh well. What're they gonna do? Arrest me?"

"Yes," he said in a dead serious voice, "that's exactly what they'll do."

"Oh." There was silence, then I said, "So…can I help hang anything?"

"Mmm…well—"

"Nike!" Mrs. Potter called. "Could you come help me for a minute?"

"You lost your chance!" I smiled at Mr. Potter than ran into the house towards the back kitchen.

"Yes ma'am?" I asked her, coming to a halt at the counter, noticing, with relief, that Sirius and James had left.

"D'you think you could finish cooking for me while I finish cleaning and start decorating inside?"

"Me? Cook?" I sputtered. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Sure! Why not? Every girl knows how to cook!"

"Well, not _every_…"

"And I understand that you had to cook in detention once."

"Well…no. It was more of _cleaning_—"

"Oh. You want Sirius' help, huh? I'll just call him in here and—"

"No! No. I'll do it. Just, please, _please_ keep them away. They're being weird today."

She grinned in one that matched James' mischievous one. "Alright. I have a list of stuff that needs to be finished, so if you could do that for me, that'd be wonderful." Then she left through the swinging doors.

I went to the list hung on the wall and groaned at the long list. Mrs. Potter had lied to me; I _did _have to cook something. I didn't have to finish up anything, oh no, I just had to cook _all_ the desserts.

I stomped over to the cupboards and flung them open, grabbing the flour and sugar. I set them on the counter, and went to get a bowl. I was going to start with the easiest sounding one; cookies. Following the directions from the cookbook she had laid out, I gathered up the rest of the ingredients.

Once I had them all laid out, I started to combine the stuff in the bowl, hoping that it wasn't a bad thing if you had egg shells in the mixture. I stirred the mixture sloppily, trying to keep it in the small bowl, which happened to be the only one I could find. I went to reach for the glass of water I'd put on the counter, but I wasn't watching and I accidently knocked it and the flour off the counter. It landed with a loud _crash_ and a huge puff of flour rose up from the ground, filling the area.

I coughed, inhaling the stuff and tried to clear the air with my hand, but succeeded in making a bigger mess because I knocked the mixture I'd just stirred off the counter. There was another loud crash, causing me to jump.

Wincing, I made my way for the counter, trying to find a rag that I knew had been there. But I guess I was moving too quickly, because I slipped on the various liquids on the floor and fell backwards, landing on my back, causing more flour to rise up in the air.

Red-hot anger swelled up inside me. I _hated _cooking!

I heard the door open, and footsteps stop.

"What the hell happened in here?" came Sirius' voice.

"Nike?" James said in a hesitant voice. "Are you in here?"

"No," I said dryly. "This mess made itself and I'm just an innocent bystander who happens to be on her ass."

"Mess is an understatement," Sirius said, laughing.

"Don't you _dare _laugh Sirius Black!" I snapped.

"Where are you?" James asked.

"Right here," I said, standing up, peering through the haze at them. I turned to the sink and, wouldn't you know it, slipped and fell on my butt.

"Damn it all!" I yelled. Both boys had the nerve to burst out laughing at me. I got on my hands and knees and slowly half-crawled and half-slid over to them, ignoring the shards of glass that stuck in my hands, feet, and knees.

"You guys are bastards," I hissed, grabbing their legs to help myself up off the floor. I grasped their arms to get on my slippery feet, but like I noted, my feet were slippery, and I fell again, bringing the boys down with me.

"Get off me, Sirius!" I yelled.

"James! Get off us!" Sirius yelled at James.

"I'm trying, but _your _legs—"

"Get your hands off my legs, James! That's weird!"

"Well then you get your legs off me because until then I can't move," James said in an irritated voice.

Sirius huffed and turned around, putting his arms on my chest as he did so. "I—"

"You best remove your arms off me right now Sirius Black before I break them," I growled.

He looked back at me and his eyes widened. "I'm sorry I—"

There was a sudden movement and Sirius was thrown forward, squishing me even more, his face becoming buried and his hands getting tangled in my already messy hair.

"There. Much better," James said. He uttered a strangled laugh when, I'm assuming, he saw us. I started to punch Sirius.

"Get. Off. Me!" I snarled. He moved, but his fingers were still stuck in my hair.

"Gah!" he exclaimed. "Your hair's so tangled! I can't get my fingers out! We're gonna have to cut it off."

James snickered, and we both turned to glare at him, yelling, "SHUT-UP!" Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Crap!" Sirius said. "People are here!"

"What?" I said. "But I thought you had at least an hour…"

"Nike! You've been in here for an hour!"

"Seriously? There's no way!"

"Yeah. We were coming in to see how you were doing and tell you to go get changed," James said, helping us to our feet, which was painful to my poor hair because of the big oaf attached to it.

"What's wrong with how I'm dressed?" I demanded, and we all looked down and examined me, and let's just say I looked…interesting. A combination of flour, water, eggs, and oil covered every inch of my body and clothes, shards of glass from the water glass and bowl were also stuck in my skin, clothes, and hair, and my hair was a complete rats' nest fit with horrible tangles, the cooking crap, and Sirius' freakin' fingers.

"Okay. Well…maybe I've seen better days, but…"

James snorted. "C'mon. Let's get you up stairs so you can wash up. Hopefully we can sneak past people." He laughed at a thought. "What a great first impression this would make!"

"First impression? What d'you mean?"

"You're meeting everyone's parents. Well…hopefully. If the adults'll let us be around them," James said, poking his head out the door.

"No. No, I'm _not _going to meet them tonight! I haven't had time to prepare myself! I'm gonna say something stupid and make a fool of myself and they'll hate me. Not gonna happen tonight, James!" I said breathlessly.

"Alright! Coast is clear! C'mon!" James whispered, and Sirius and I, moving as best as we could with him not yanking my hair out. We made it to the stairs unnoticed, but my luck couldn't possibly have lasted much longer than that.

"James!" Lily called, and the stupid boy turned around with a wide smile on his face, holding up progress.

"Hi Lily," he said in a shy voice. Sirius rolled his eyes and gagged.

"Mum, dad, this is…oh Merlin! What the heck happened to you, Nike?" Lily demanded.

"Damn," Sirius and I muttered at the exact same time under our breaths. Great first impression, alright.

I slowly turned around, and hissed when Sirius wouldn't turn around, yanking on my hair I swung a fist wildly at him and missed, but the moron just yanked on my hair even harder.

"Hey Lil!" I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. "Fancy seeing you here!"

She was looking at me with a horrified look. "Yeah…erm…"

I sighed. "Mrs. Potter had me cooking. And these two gits got in my way, which is why _his _bloody fingers are stuck in _my_ hair."

Mrs. Evans laughed, bringing my attention to her. "You have talent, Miss Nike. I have _never _in my life seen someone come out of a kitchen looking like that."

I glanced at Lily, then smiled slightly. "Talent at messing up, yes. It's a _terrible _gift."

Mrs. Evans held out her hand, but I hesitated to shake it. "I, um, well…" I held up my hands.

She smiled and shook my hand anyways. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Lisa, and this is John, my husband." I looked over at Lily's dad, and saw him eying James, who looked very uncomfortable but didn't look away. Mrs. Evans sighed and elbowed Mr. Evans.

His eyes snapped away from James and to his wife, who nodded her head in my direction and mutter, "Don't be rude. Say hello to Lily's best friend."

He stared at me hard, then smirked. "Cooking isn't your specialty, is it?"

"Yeah…no."

"Mine either," he agreed, holding out his hand, which I promptly shook. "As Lisa already said, I'm John, Lily's father."

"Pleased to meet you."

"Now. Are you being tormented by that young man? I'd be happy to break his fingers off if he's bothering you or trying to—"

"Dad!" Lily exclaimed while Mrs. Evans said sharply,

"John!"

"What?" he asked earnestly. Sirius turned around, finally releasing the tension on my hair.

"Who are you?" Mr. Evans asked him.

"Sirius Black, sir," he said emotionlessly.

"Oh. _Him_." Mr. Evans didn't look to happy to hear that name. I raised an eyebrow at Lily, who shrugged helplessly, mouthing, _"They know about his family. The Daily Prophet…"_

I coughed into my arm. "Well…it's a pleasure to meet you guys. I'll be more presentable in a few minutes, so…" I turned to Lily and James. "I'll catch up with you guys then."

Lily nodded, leading James and her parents away down the hall. Sirius glanced at me.

"Not so much of a hotshot to adults, are ya?" I asked, smirking.

"Oh shut-_up_," he snapped, walking up the stairs, dragging me by my hair.

"Ow, ow, ow, you bast—"

"Sirius!" a woman's voice yelled gleefully.

"Ah hell. How many people am I gonna meet looking like this?" I hissed at him. But his eyes had brightened and he turned around, dragging me down the stairs.

"Andromeda!" he said. "Where's Uncle Alphard?"

"I'm afraid he couldn't make it this time. But it's good to see my favorite cousin," she said, walking up the last few stairs, giving him a tight hug.

"OW!" I yelled, when he attempted to hug her back, yanking my hair even farther.

Andromeda, a tall, young woman with the familiar black hair and stormy grey eyes, pulled back and smiled at me. "You must be Nike."

"Yeah," I said, not in the best of moods. "That'd be me." I glared at Sirius. "And I'm about to be bald, so get a good last look at the wonderful stuff on top of my head, because it's about to be gone."

She laughed. "Tonks described you exactly right." My eyes widened, and I looked her over again. She _did _look like Tonks, what with her figure and height.

"Y-_you're _Tonks' _mom_? But you're…you're so _young!"_

Andromeda laughed again. "Thanks. I know I'm much younger than the rest of the parents that have teenagers, but I think Teddy and I manage fairly well."

"Oh! I didn't mean—"

"I know. Here. Let me help with that issue before there's only two good Blacks left in the world." She took her wand out and pointed it at my hair, uttered a spell, and Sirius' fingers were out of my hair, and my hair was back to normal, even _brushed_.

"Thanks," Sirius and I said at the same time.

"Don't mention it," she said. "Now go upstairs and fix yourself up before the rest of the guests arrive. We're just the early-birds."

Nodding to her, I ran up the stairs, not being able to wash away all the humiliation.

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><p><strong>AN: Haha yeah…stupid? Perhaps. But this just shows how, erm, **_**talented**_ **Nike is. So, if you thought it was stupid, okay. But remember, not everybody can cook, and there ARE danger-prone people out there (I'm one of them!) so that's just my opinion.**

**Also, not much descriptions of parents and she doesn't really get to judge their characters very much, but there'll be a later time for that. And I found no names on Lily's parents, so I found some random, common names. If none of you like that, oh well. If you can actually find that they DID have names, please let me know so I can change that! And I decided to make Lily's dad a dad who, like most dads of teenager girls, doesn't like boys that hang out with their daughters, and especially not their boyfriends (and even more so, their first boyfriend). So, I should have fun with that, but poor James...**

**Alrighty! So the sooner I get reviews, the sooner we can see part two of New Year's and how horrible (oops! Did I say horrible? I meant to say **_**fun**_**…) that will turn out to be!**

**So, R&R guys! Thanks!**

**Nike**


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

_A/N: Okay, so I know I didn't get any reviews, but it HAS been a long time since I've updated, AND I'm fairly happy about heading out of town for two weeks with nothing but me and the great outdoors! :) So hopefully this chapter (with its surprise!) will be enough of an apology._

_Also, I would like to thank _**midnight zoe** _for helping me FINALLY come up with a real name for this book. "New Beginnings" is appropriate, don'tcha think? So, for future reference, the series is called "The Ankh-shifter", but every book will have it's own name. Make sense, right? _

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created.<strong>

Chapter Twenty-seven

New Year's Eve (Part Two)

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><p>"You look <em>much <em>better, Nik," Lily said as she, Tonks, and I walked around in the gardens.

"I can't believe I missed it all. Curse your parents for them being totally awesome and me liking them enough to yak their ears off," Tonks told Lily, smiling.

"Trust me; it left a scar," I told her, shuddering at the memory. "No offense to Remus or anything, but I'm glad I didn't get to meet his mum today. I would've died."

They both laughed at me, and Tonks said, "Better you than us, that's for sure!" When Lily agreed, I glared at both of them.

"Soo…subject change!" Lily sang. "I see you're wearing something nice, Nike."

"I see you two are too," I said nonchalantly. Lily was wearing a teal, loose, short-sleeved, knee length dress (her dad probably had to O.K. what she was wearing, too, seeing as we were at her boyfriend's house) equipped with white flats. Tonks had her usual obnoxious hot-pink hair-style, a black tank-top dress that went down a bit lower than mid-thighs, and had a rose-design along the back stopping at the shoulders, showing some skin.

"Yeah but see it's normal for me to wear a dress, and slightly normal for Tonks to wear a dress, but it's completely _ab_normal for _you _to wear a dress." Tonks smirked at this.

"Yeah, well…Mrs. Potter made me," I said gloomily.

"It looks nice. It's just hard to imagine you in white," Tonks said.

"It makes you look innocent," Lily agreed.

"Whatever," I said, glancing down at the simple, plain white garment I had on. It was the same length as Tonks', but it had only one sleeve. Surprisingly enough, it was quite comfortable, but I wasn't ever going to tell anyone that. It would ruin my reputation.

"You can 'whatever' all you want Nik, but—"

"Hi."

I jumped, startled, and turned around at the familiar voice. Never had I even dared to think he would show up here. I was sure this was "off-limits territory".

"Hey," I said, casting a quick look around to see if the boys were around. Thank Merlin, they weren't. "What are you doing here Gary?"

He smiled slightly. "Well…a strange owl arrived a couple days ago with an invitation. Someone seemed pretty excited about the possibility of me coming, and I would hate to break Potter's mum's heart."

I shook my head, looking at my feet. "Of course it's her doing…"

"You're brave," Tonks said bluntly.

"Tonks!" Lily hissed. "It's good to see you, Napier."

But Gary just glanced at me and then laughed. "Yeah, you too Lily. Just do me a favor."

"Sure," she said. "If you've earned Nike's trust than you sure as hell aren't a bad person."

"Thanks. But call me Gary." Lily nodded to that, so he turned to Tonks. "And you're probably right, Tonks. I figured it was a stupid choice, but…my dad and mum are out of town and Austin's sick, so…" He shrugged. "…I figured _'Why the hell not?'"_

I coughed awkwardly then said. "Is Austin okay?"

"Oh, yeah." He shifted. "He just came down with a common cold. Should be better by tomorrow."

"Good…"

"Yeah…" There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. Damn the stupid dress. It was making me feel subconscious.

Lily elbowed me. "Thank him for the tickets," she whispered.

My eyes brightened. "Yeah!"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Sorry?"

I blushed. "I mean…thanks for the ticket. It sounds like it's going to be tons of fun. And from what I've heard from two huge Quidditch fanatics, those are some of the best teams."

"Well they're going to have the best young keeper taking notes, so they better be better than she is." I laughed at that, rolling my eyes. "I do have to admit, though, that I was sorta worried you weren't gonna come, but…"

"Are you kidding?" I exclaimed. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I, uh…"

"And if she didn't take them, I don't care if you don't know me or not, _I _would take the tickets, fighting through James and all, and would never come back!" Tonks said, smiling.

"Next time I know to get some for you, then," he told Tonks, who beamed at him.

"So! You wanna walk with us? I really just don't wanna stand here in this awkward moment…"

He smirked as we all started to walk. "So you picked up on that too. I think it's the dress."

I punched him in the arm. "Hey! You're not helping!"

Lily glared at him. "Really. We're trying to get her to actually wear this stuff and get out of tomboy stuff, Gary! Don't give her a freakin' complex!"

"I-I'm sorry Keep. You do look nice. Wear dresses more often; I like it." Tonks burst out laughing, which Lily shushed by elbowing her in the stomach. Gary and I both turned red.

"Awkwardness is back," he muttered.

"Yup. But, thank you. I think," I said.

"Honestly you two," Lily said, sighing. "Is it me and Tonks who are making things weird? Because if this is how your friendship started and what you keep going back for…I'm worried."

"No!" I said. "I umm…I'm just trying to think of how to act like a girl."

Gary rolled his eyes. "Don't. That would make it weirder."

"Are you saying I act like a dude?" I demanded.

"Not necessarily…I'm just saying that you most certainly _are _a girl, but if you try and act like a girly-girl I would probably die because that would mean something was wrong in the world."

"You're lucky I don't know how to reply to that."

"Point one for me."

"Now _that's _better," Lily muttered, looking pleased with herself.

"Hey guys! Fifteen minutes til midnight! Mum wants us all out back!" James yelled, bounding through the garden. He stopped dead in his tracks when he reached us. He looked behind him, then back at us. "Napier, you might want to—"

"Where the _hell _did you go, Prongs?" I heard Sirius yell.

"Damnit. Too late," James muttered.

"What?" Lily asked. "What's wrong."

"Well, now isn't the best time for him to be here because Sirius is in a bad enough mood already…" He trailed off and yelled, "Remus! Sirius! Get back to the house! They've got fireworks they're gonna shoot in our faces!" And with that, he took off running, hands in the air, screaming for good measure.

"Merlin," Lily huffed, "and to think I'm dating _that_."

"It'll probably be the worst and best mistake you've ever made," I agreed.

"C'mon," Tonks said. "If we're gonna get back in time for a light show, we better go now."

"What are fireworks?" I asked Gary.

He smiled over at me, looking like a mischievous boy fit with his hands shoved in his pockets. "You'll see; I don't want to spoil it."

I grabbed his arm, tugging on him. "_Please_?"

"_Noo_," he said, mocking me. So I punched him, and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I hate you, Napier."

"The feeling's mutual, Keep," he said, smirking.

I rolled my eyes as we came into the front yard, which was filled to the brim with people, not all of them magical-folk, like Lily's mum and dad. Up above everyone in the sky were numbers, counting down.

"What's that?" I asked, but found Lily and Tonks had slipped away, and it was just me and Gary.

"It's the clock counting down to New Years," he explained. "And any second now, people will stop talking and start counting down with it."

"Oh. So this is really a big deal, huh?"

"Very."

"Twenty! Nineteen! Eighteen…!" everyone started to chant, watching the clock tick down the seconds.

"This is sorta ridiculous," I said, laughing.

"Yes, but it's fun," he replied.

"Fifteen! Fourteen! Thirteen! Twelve…!"

"So…is there any other weird traditions I should know about?"

"Nope. Except they have the fireworks that'll shoot up as soon as the clock hits zero, or midnight." He then paled, then shuffled his feet. "Well, there is _one _more tradition."

"Seven! Six! Five…!"

"Oh? And what's that? It can't be any crazier than the counting!" I laughed, elbowing him in the side to get him to lighten up. He seemed kind of uncomfortable, which confused me.

"Three! Two! One!" A timer went off, and there was a whistling sound as several bright lights of every color, shade, and combinations imaginable shot up into the night sky, exploding in a shower of sparks with a loud sound that was a mix between a pop and a boom.

"Happy New Years!" everyone yelled at the top of their lungs.

"Wow," I breathed as more lights flew into the sky and exploded. "It's beautiful!" I looked over at Gary, who smiled, then frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's just… Well, I have to…" he trailed off, and leaned forward and kissed me gently, his lips soft. He pulled away, looking at me apologetically.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "Tradition."

I turned bright red and found myself speechless, trying to figure out what had just happened. I cleared my throat, then managed to say, "Now _that's _an odd tradition."

He laughed, back to his normal self. "Supposedly if you don't kiss someone at the stroke of midnight, you'll have a year of loneliness."

"Is it true?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"I don't know; I've never kissed someone on New Years before, but then again I've always been lonely. So I'll let you know."

"Yeah, me too," I said. In fact, I'd never kissed anyone before, but it was...nice, actually.

"Happy New Years, Keep," he said, smiling.

"Yeah, you too." And I knew without a doubt that this year was going to be something else entirely, nothing that I ever in my life would have thought would happen to me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: See? There's the surprise! Hope you liked it. :)**

**Also, speaking of fireworks, I know this is late, but Happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans out there! Hope it was a good one!**

**So R&R everyone! I was hoping to get a response with the whole Gary-thing, but I guess I'll have to wait and see! And if nothing else, come back to see how the Marauders (espescially Sirius!) react to the kiss.**

**Alrighty! Until next time, two weeks from now when I'll have lots of chapters to (hopefully!) put up because I'll have reviews...**

**Nike**


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

**A/N: I'd like to thank **_midnight zoe _**for her help with this chapter. I put myself in a little hole there for awhile, and she helped me get out of it. :)**

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><p>Chapter Twenty-eight<p>

Sirius-ly Confused

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><p>I woke up from pleasant dreams to two identical redheads staring down at me with big, wide eyes.<p>

"Ah!" I screamed, flailing as I sat up, nearly falling out of bed. Tonks shifted back into her normal self as she and Lily burst out laughing, clutching their sides.

I fell back on my pillows, trying to catch my breath. "Merlin! Don't you two _ever _do that again, you stupid shifter and witch!" I yelled. "You'll kill me!"

"And you, stupid Nike-because-I-have-no-other-words-to-describe-you,will kill _us _if you don't spill!" Tonks said, sitting on the left side of my bed, staring at me with an excited expression.

"Spill? What am I spilling? I have nothing _to _spill," I said, confused.

Lily sat on the right side of the bed, mirroring Tonks. "No, silly, we don't mean literately! What we mean is, we need details."

"Details?" I looked back and forth between them, becoming more and more confused by the second.

"Yes! We wanna hear what—"

"Good _moooorrrrning_, my lovelies!" James sang, throwing my door open and walking in, pulling one of my chairs next to Lily.

I blinked over at him. "Very theatrical entrance, Prongs."

"You think so? See, I couldn't figure out _how _I wanted to sing—"

"James, shut-up!" Lily said, clamping her hand over his mouth. "You interrupted something _very _important."

"Oh?" he asked through her hand, raising an eyebrow. He took Lily's hand in his and said, "What did I miss?"

"Sadly, we missed it, too," Tonks said. "But we know it happened."

"It?" I questioned. Groaning and trying to sink into my pillows, I said, "Guys…what the hell are we talking about?"

"I hope you know you're not being funny, Nike," Lily said, pouting.

"I'm not _trying _to be funny!" I exclaimed.

"She's not," Remus said from my doorway. "Because as funny as she is when she's not _trying _to be, I'd expect a lot more than _this _from her if she were trying."

"Oh, good morning Remus," I said dryly. "Why don't you come join the party? Seems it's here, in my room, at seven, and the only one who didn't know of it was the host. Namely, me. Tell Sirius to come on in, too."

Shaking his head at me, he came over and stood at the footboard. "I don't think we want Sirius here at the moment. He's in a real testy mood."

"Great. What'd I do this time?" I asked sarcastically. "Can't I get a break around here?" Lily and Tonks exchanged matching knowing looks.

"You don't think…?" Tonks trailed off.

"He must've," Lily agreed. "But why would he care?"

"Huh?" James, Remus, and I all said.

"Why don't you tell us, Nik?" Lily asked. "I'm sure we'd all rather hear it from you. Besides, I don't want to be wrong and embarrass myself over something based on a hunch."

"Erm…" I yawned and stretched. "Okay, give me a hint. I need one."

"New Year's," Tonks said, unable to keep the excitement from her voice.

"Okay, next—oh." I blushed, hoping they weren't looking at me but knowing that I had all eyes on me.

"What?" James asked. "I NEED to know, Nik! The suspense is KILLING me!" He grabbed my shoulders and started to shake them, my head flopping like a rag doll. "TELL! ME!"

"I—"

"She kissed Napier."

I swear the room got colder and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. My eyes flew to my door where Sirius stood, leaning against my door, staring at me.

"YES!" Tonks said, jumping up with her arms in the air, like she'd just scored.

"WE KNEW IT!" Lily yelled, grabbing my hands. "I'm _so _happy for you Nike!" she squealed. Remus smiled, like he wasn't surprised, but James' reaction wasn't quite as nice as the girls' or Remus'.

"You did…what?" His voice was barely a whisper, his eyes showing disbelief. I fidgeted under all their stares.

"I-I was…" I jumped up and bolted for the door, trying to get away from all of them and the confusion swelling inside of me. Sirius grabbed me by my waist and looked at me.

"Don't you want to tell them?" He was smirking, but it wasn't his usual one.

"No!" I shouted, twisting out of his grip, taking the stairs two at a time and bursting out the front door. I didn't stop running until I was in the woods, glad for the exercise.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" I demanded of myself. "Why are you bothered by what they think?" A fieldfare chirped, looking at me from its perch on the tree.

"You look confused," the bird said, cocking its head at me. The fieldfare was small for its kind, but it was unmistakably tough; you could tell from the little tuffs of feathers missing from his backside.

"Very," I replied. "I just…do not understand all these human emotions."

"They must be very different than how we are."

I grabbed a hold of a branch and swung myself up, climbing til I was on the branch opposite of the fieldfare. "You would not believe it! You see them every day, but it is so hard to comprehend what is on the inside."

The little bird ruffled its feathers. "But you do not miss being one of us."

I hesitated, thinking about it. "Yes…and no. I love it here now; I like how it seems I belong somewhere, that I fit there better than I did when I was with you guys. But…I do miss the simplicity of the forest creatures."

"You knew since you were able to think that you were not normal, in either world. Nothing will be easy for you."

"You are right. When I look at it that way, I have plenty of other things to worry about, like the threat of the darkest wizard of all times making a return. When I think about that, the whole ordeal about the kiss with Gary is _nothing_. So what if Sirius and James don't like it? They can go screw themselves; I really don't care."

I dropped from the tree and looked back up at the fieldfare. "Thanks. It keeps me sane if I can take a break and step back into this world every now and then."

"Do not worry; you are always welcome here, whenever you need us." I dipped my head to the bird, then walked back to the house, head held high and ready to fight the world, barefoot and in my pajamas.

"Were you talking to a bird?" I turned around to look at Sirius who was standing in the shadows of the trees.

"Are you surprised?" I asked, smirking.

"No. Not at all."

I laughed and walked over to him, then frowned. "Why are you spying on me?"

"I'm not _spying _on you, idiot. I was told to come out and see what the heck is wrong with you. They said you're awfully moody today."

"_They _said that? Or _you _said that?"

"Erm…maybe both."

"Have you looked in the mirror? Seriously Sirius! I don't know what the hell is wrong with _you_! You seemed fine yesterday, and then back there in the house you seemed like somebody stepped on your tail! And now, just a few seconds ago, you seemed perfectly normal! I just don't understand—"

"You don't understand? There's nothing _to _understand, Nik! I just don't see what you see in Napier." He clenched his jaw, glaring down at me.

I was shocked. "That's what this is about? You're jealous?"

"I'm not jealous," he snapped. "And I never would be. There's nothing to be jealous of."

"Oh really? Then what's got your boxers in a bunch?"

"I-I just don't want to see you get hurt, okay?"

"Why? Why is that any of your concern? Who says that you even need to know what goes on in my life?"

"Because I care about you, Nik!" he yelled. I stared at him with wide eyes, and he just looked back at me. He sighed then said quietly, "I didn't think it was hard to see that."

"Look, Sirius," I said, taking a deep breath. "There's nothing romantic going on between me and Gary. It was a _tradition _that was the cause of the kiss, okay? I care for him, yes, just like I care for you, or James and Remus. I just think it's stupid how you and James try and control me—"

Sirius moved suddenly, and his lips were on mine, desperate, needing. He kissed me in a soft but firm way, then pulled his lips from mine and said, "I wish you'd just shut-up sometimes."

I looked at his face, so close to mine, seeing his features up closer than I had ever before, and tried to sort through all the confusing thoughts running through my head, all at once. He took a step back, giving me some space.

"Okay, maybe I don't want you to shut-up. You're scarier that way," he said in a thoughtful tone.

I took a step towards him, then stopped. _What are you doing? _I asked myself. Sirius was looking at me, as if he was wondering the same thing. I looked at him, then down at my feet and said,

"I'm just so confused."

"Yeah," he said, laughing. He put his arm around my shoulders and started to lead us back to the house. "Me too, Nik, me too."

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><p><strong>AN: Well...how'd you like the chapter? Huh? Huh? Nobody liked it as much as me, because at the moment I'm REALLY wishing I was Nike! Haha. **

**So, my Thank-you's:**

Guest**: Awww thank you SOOO much! I really wished I had a hundred reviews too...I'd be crying with happiness (maybe...) if I did. I'm so glad you like it! Ah...yes. Now, see, about that question...how do I put this? Let's just say, so as not to confuse anyone, that Nike understands and can speak all languages, but she doesn't know she can. Hope that helped! :)**

Nisaba _(since I am Sehsat, so it can't be me reviewing!)_**: Thanks for the review!**

**Alrighty! So R&R guys!**

**Nike**


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter Twenty-nine

Revenge

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><p>There's no better way to start out in school again then to be sitting in the Great Hall, surrounded by your friends, eating a wonderful dinner made by the house-elves that Sirius and I would have to clean up later. But I didn't care about that right now. I'd come to enjoy the house-elves' and Sirius' company. Despite the kiss, things hadn't changed between us, and we were still our old, normal selves. I thanked the gods that the others hadn't found out about it…I never would've been able to live that down.<p>

I could think of nothing that could ruin this moment, and the feeling that came with it.

But as every good thing does, it came to an end.

Professor Vera stood up from his chair and waited expectantly. But the students either didn't notice him, or, like me, they were ignoring him, and everyone was still carrying on with their conversations. The Headmaster's patience level plummeted, and his face turned extremely red.

"_Silence_!" he bellowed. "That's enough!" Everyone shut-up while James shot me an amused grin and Sirius made a face at the Headmaster.

"I hope you all had an enjoyable break, but you must realize that break is over and it's time to get back to business."

"He doesn't hope we enjoyed our break," Tonks told our group as the Headmaster went over the rules and regulations. "I bet he wishes all of us suffered and at least half of us died."

"Ah, but see, he wishes his precious _Slytherins_ had an _'enjoyable break'_," Remus said.

"Remus is right," James agreed, "but so is Tonks."

"Yep," Sirius said. "I bet he wishes all us Gryffindors were wiped off the face of this planet."

"Along with all the muggle-borns and half-and-half's," I added.

"Ssh you guys!" Lily hushed. "He's announcing who's in the lead for House Points!" That shut us up real quick. One thing I'd come to learn was that Gryffindor _had_ to win the House Cup; Slytherin had won for the past five years, and their streak _had _to be ended. Now. As in, this year. As in, by _us_.

"As you all know, the end of the school year is nearing…" Professor Vera was saying.

"Go ahead and say it Wormtail," James said. Smiling, the we all (except for Peter who turned red and hid his face) at once said, "We've got this in Merlin's Purse!"

"In second place, as of right now, is Ravenclaw," the Headmaster said. All of the Houses except for Slytherin clapped and cheered for them.

"And, as of right now, Slytherin is in first place." There was cheering from the Slytherins, but that was it. Everyone else was stunned, including the teachers. The students began to murmur confusedly. My group was frozen, shocked.

"That's not right!" a Ravenclaw girl cried.

"Yeah! Gryffindor should be in first!" a Hufflepuff boy agreed.

"They've won all the Quidditch games so far!" Gary yelled, glancing over at me, giving me a _'What the _hell_?' _look. The Gryffindors were now starting to shout their agreement.

"SHUT-UP!" Professor Vera yelled. "Quidditch isn't everything—"

"Quidditch is _almost_ everything!" James yelled, enraged, jumping up and shaking his fist at him.

"Sit _down_ Mr. Potter!" the Headmaster snapped. Lily pulled him down next to her before he could get in trouble, but he still had his fist in the air, shooting daggers at him.

"You seem to forget that the way you act will both earn and lose your House Points. Ever since Gryffindor's new edition has arrived, they've been losing their points faster than they can earn them." The Hall went completely silent. Then I realized what he'd said, or rather, _who_ he'd put the blame on.

"I didn't do this!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet.

"If anything she's _brought_ our house points!" Sirius yelled.

"That's not what I've—"

"Where's the proof?" I interrupted Professor Vera. "Just who have I ticked off?" Professor Damant stood, smiling cruelly.

"_What?"_ Remus shouted. "But he _never_ took our House Points away! And if he did, he didn't say he was!"

"That's against the rules!" Lily growled, her anger starting to double. Mess with her friends, don't worry, you'll never forget it. Mess with her friends _and_ the rules; oh, you're going down, sucker!

Weasley intervened here. "Miss Evans is correct. And, if I do recall, Gryffindor _has_ received other points from all the teachers at some point during this school year." The look in Weasley's eyes was dangerous. He was daring the Headmaster to fight against him. And he knew it, so he backed down, but his expression was as cold as ice when he looked at me and my group.

"I will look into this misunderstanding then—"

"There's nothing to look into!" Tonks yelled. "Gryffindor is in first…"

"…and Slytherin, because of the house points they lost, are in last," Professor McGonagall said, looking at a piece of parchment. "Here is your proof, Headmaster."

The Headmaster's expression, if possible, got even colder as he said, "Very well. As of this moment Gryffindor is in the lead."

* * *

><p>Since we had arrived back at school on Friday, we had the next two days off. And first thing Saturday morning, during breakfast, Sirius had something planned. Something that he had told only me about. And the only thing I could say was this: Lily was going to <em>kill<em> him. And I told him such, but he laughed it off.

"She wouldn't dare. James wouldn't let her," he told me as we made our to the Great Hall.

"You sure? He seems to let Lily do whatever she wants. I think he doesn't want to lose her or something…and she knows his weakness, so she uses it to her advantage," I said, smiling. That was just like Lily, using her head.

"I can agree with you there." He led us over to Lily, James, Remus, Tonks, and Peter. He sat next to James, and I sat next to him and across from Remus.

"Mornin' you happy people!" he said cheerily. Remus looked at him confused, but I kicked him to keep him quiet.

"You're certainly in a good mood considering it's…" Lily looked at her watch. "Oh, seven forty-five. In the _morning."_

"What'd Nike do to wake you up this morning? You're happy, so did she kiss—" I'm pretty sure Sirius stomped on James' foot for that because he yelled out in pain. I'm not sure me kissing him would do anything anyways. Well, other than freak him out. Besides, I wasn't sure it was a good idea…

"Ow! Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" James said. "Just thought I'd check…"

"How many people do you think are in here right now?" I asked.

Peter looked around. "Umm…about the whole school…give or take a few that are sleeping."

"Why?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"Oh, no reason," I said, taking a bite of some toast. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sirius grin.

He stood up and cleared his throat loudly. Of course, all the girls noticed him first…and then the guys soon followed. When he had everyone's attention, he said,

"How many of you know James Potter, Gryffindor Quidditch captain?" The girls yelled out answers and expressions of what they thought of him, which made Lily narrow her eyes, while some of the guys that James would talk to muttered answers, if not a bit jealously.

"Okay, good. That's everyone. Well, how many of you know the girl he fancies; Lily Evans?" Now here's where the guys yelled out, James got envious, and the girls stayed broody and silent (except for Lily's friends). Sirius' grin got even wider.

"Even better. Well, after about…how long has it been? Oh, right. After two and a half years of begging her and making a complete _idiot _of himself…James has finally gotten Lily to say yes to him, and now these two are officially going out! They're together, so back off all you James-lovers. He's taken. Alright. That's all. Thank you." He sat back down to silence. Lily, who was shell-shocked, broke out of it and jumped up.

"Sirius Black, you SOB, I'm gonna murder you!" she yelled, and she chased him out of the Great Hall, yelling the whole way. That left James to face it alone as all the eyes in the room returned to him after Lily and Sirius disappeared. He turned to me slowly after waving at everybody with a big, goofy grin.

"You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Yup," I said, taking a drink of pumpkin juice.

"And you didn't care to tell me?"

"Nope."

"I'm very—"

"Come on James. You can't be mad at me," I said, giving him a small smile.

"Mad at you?" He laughed. "No, I was going to say I'm proud, but, uh, if I'm supposed to be mad, I can try that too." He frowned at me and glared. I poked and winked at him, and he cracked up. "You are so hard to be mad at Nik! I see what Padfoot means."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh-huh. So…anything else that Sirius says about me that I should know about?"

He smirked at me. "Oh yeah, loads of it. But none of it that you're going to hear."

"_Jaaammeeesss_…" I warned.

"Nope, still not telling!" he said stubbornly. I reached over to grab a hold of him, but he'd been expecting that. He jumped up and took off. And, like Lily had with Sirius, I chased after him.

* * *

><p>"Regulus? You want to go talk to <em>Regulus<em>?" I demanded, blocking Sirius' path out of the Common Room.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Come on Nik. Move. I've just got to sort something out with him."

"And what would that be…?" I pressed.

"Nothing," he snapped.

"Oh, I don't think so. Take James and Remus with you that way you don't end up murdering him just yet. I doubt this 'sorting things out' with him is actually gonna turn out as _just_ an exchange of words."

"They're busy. James is hanging out with Lily and Remus, Peter, and Tonks are somewhere."

"Then I'm coming."

"No. You're not."

"And just why not?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Because…because…" He took in my expression, and then ran an agitated hand through his hair. "Oh for the love of Merlin! Why must you be so difficult?"  
>I smirked. "Me? Difficult? Nope! That's you."<p>

"Fine. But stay out of it. It's none of your business." He walked out of the common room, not bothering to wait for me.  
>I skipped after him and said, "As you wish Snuffles!"<p>

"Snuffles?" He shot me a confused look.

"Sure. Why not?" Sirius just rolled his eyes at me. "Where are we going?" I asked when we seemed to be going lower and the stone walls seemed darker and prison-like. Was it just me, or was it even _colder?_

"Slytherin's house," Sirius replied, looking around uneasily.

"Are you okay?" I asked, once again taken aback by this not-so-confident/comfortable side of him.

"Yeah…I'm fine. It's just strange to think that I should be _here_ and not in Gryffindor."

"Don't talk like that!" I chided. "If anyone should be in Gryffindor, it's you. And I think we all can agree that you've proven it."

"Stop trying to make me feel better. I need to get through this mess alone." By 'this mess', he meant his family. It was strange how I understood him so easily and clearly.

"You really think that?" I asked quietly. "Or is there more to it?" He was silent. "Just know that we're here for you, no matter what happens."

"You say that now, but you don't know what will happen in the future. I might do something that you, everyone, and even myself won't be able to forgive." So that's what he was scared of: losing the only people he had in this world.

"I'm not a Seer, and I'm not going to pretend that might not happen," I said slowly. "Times are going to become extremely difficult, and all of us are going to have decisions to make. Yours will probably be bigger and the choice will be more consequential than the rest of ours. But let me assure you of one thing that I'm almost completely sure of: no matter what you may choose, you'll eventually see what is right. And because of that, and because we care about you a lot, we'll forgive you."

"That's probably the most serious and thoughtful thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth," he said finally, smiling. But I knew he'd listened and believed me.

"Don't get used to it," I said. "You were desperate."

"Me? Desperate? Ha! Never," he scoffed.

Five minutes later we had snuck into the Slytherin common room (which I would rather not describe) and made our way to the boys' dormitory.

"You want me to wait out here?" I asked him as we came to a stop at a black door.

"There is absolutely _no way_ I am leaving you alone in the Slytherin house on the floor with the boys' dorms. I don't care if you can take care of yourself. It's just too dangerous and I'm not taking that risk," Sirius said.

"Why are you so concerned for my safety?" I asked.

"You know why, you evil woman," he snapped.

"Oh. Well. Thank you. But I still think you're a bastard," I teased. He laughed and rolled his eyes at me, then opened the door, and we saw Regulus snogging a Slytherin girl that looked way too old for him, considering he was only twelve and the girl looked seventeen.

"Oh gross," I gagged. The two pulled apart, Regulus glaring and the girl becoming extremely red in the face when she saw the legendary Sirius Black.

"Get a room," Sirius scoffed.  
>Regulus overcame his embarrassment and sneered at his brother. "I happen to have one, only problem is <em>you<em> are intruding."  
>Sirius' eyes narrowed, and he took a step forward, but I placed a hand on his arm and stopped him. I looked at the girl and said, "Get out." She nodded and ran. Hmm…she wasn't very Slytherin-like. Sirius must have that effect on everyone…<p>

"Tell me one thing Regulus, if that won't kill you," Sirius growled. "What in the bloody hell is wrong with you?"  
>Regulus laughed coldly. "Oh don't pretend like you don't do it. I've heard about <em>your<em> status among them, even after _she_," he jerked his head in my direction. "came along. I must say I'm impressed with the way you work. Not to mention how hard—"

"Huh? _What_ are we talking about here?" I demanded.

"Don't listen to him Nik," Sirius said.

"Why? Because it's the truth?" Regulus asked. "One thing you'll learn about my brother Nike is that he's a coward and is afraid of the truth."

"If _he's_ a coward I'd hate to see what you are," I replied stonily.  
>He chuckled. "My my. His <em>'charm' <em>has certainly messed with your mind. Just like all the others. And here I thought you were different."

"Well at least he has charm and doesn't try to doom people to him with a cursed rock," I shot back.

"So what? We play differently," he said, shrugging.

"_Play?_ You think this is all just a _game?_ A contest between you two and nothing more?" I asked in disbelief.

"Something like that."

"You—you—" I couldn't think of a bad enough word to describe him. Instead, my wand was out and pointed at him.

"Nike, let me," Sirius said softly. He took my wand from my hand and turned to Regulus. "Stay away from her. If I ever find out you pulled another stunt like that, I won't go so easy on you." And then Sirius hexed Regulus, and we left his room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, what did ya think? Let me know, because I wanna hear both the good AND the bad! :) **

**Now, I know, I know, I'm probably making Regulus out to be more of a bastard than he really is, but I promise you it's all for a reason. You never know; he might be changing later on. I just haven't decided yet, but even if I had, I wouldn't tell you guys! Aren't I a stinker?**

**Now my thank-you's:**

Di**: Well thanks! I'm SOO happy you like it! And who doesn't love Sirius? Nobody in their right mind, that's for sure! Thanks for the review!**

**Alrighty, so I'm putting up ONE more chappy because I feel like I owe it to you guys since I haven't been keeping my deal of how many reviews is how many chapters you get. So, if you don't review this one, you BETTER review the next one! Thanks! So, R&R, guys!**

**Nike**


	31. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

Changing the Blame

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><p>Spring was in the air. The grass was green, the sky was blue…it was a perfectly warm day fit with birds singing and flowers blooming. Perfect setting for everything to be just and peaceful, right?<p>

Wrong.

Apparently, word had gotten out that I'd spent Christmas Break with three of the four most sought after guys in the school. Rumor had it that not only had I spent a night with one of the four (Gary), creating a _whole _different story, if you catch my meaning, but also, despite James' and Lily's steady relationship, that I had, oh, and still _was_, having an affair with all the other three (Sirius, James, and Remus). At the same time.

So where did that put me? In the Hospital Wing. Almost every. Freakin. Day.

One thing I had learned, girls can be dangerous when they're lovesick. I can't even walk in the hallways without getting hexed and cursed left and right. It wasn't that I was bad at magic, because you could ask any of my friends and they'd tell you I was one hell of a duelist. No, the _really_ sucky thing was that I can't do _anything_ about it because of my one track ticket to Azkaban. Lucky me.

So, to say the least, my patience these days is wearing thin. That's why when the Marauders came and sat next to us by the Black Lake, I can't be blamed for laughing at Sirius' beat-up look. Can I?

"Ha-ha. Yeah, you would laugh," Sirius grumbled, laying back on the grass.

"What happened to you?" Lily asked. James put an arm around her.

"Well," James said. "There isn't just females at work here."

"Huh?" Tonks said.

"Let's just say that some of the male brains function slower," Remus said, grinning.

"I'm gonna say it again: huh?" Tonks repeated.

"Nike has admirers too, which we all knew already," James said. "It took 'em awhile to put two and two together…but they get it now." Tonks and Lily burst out laughing.

"And they figured _Sirius_ is the prime suspect?" Lily managed to get out.

"But of course," James said. "They know I only have eyes for you. And Remus…has eyes for someone else and they see that they're close like siblings. They know Napier's not a man-whore and respects girls, especially Nike, so that left open only one."

"I am _not _a man-whore!" Sirius growled, while Lily and Tonks smirked.

"You know, I don't have it in me to feel sorry for you," I said.

Sirius opened his eyes and met mine. "And why not? I feel sorry for you."

"Because you can defend yourself and get back at them. I, however, can _not_ because I happen to want to live a free life," I said simply.

"You're wrong there," he said. James and Remus snickered. Tonks raised an eyebrow at Remus.

"Well…since Nike was suffering and it's basically all because of him, he's gotta take it how she's taking it," Remus explained.

"Hence why I have his wand," James said, smiling widely as he waved it back in forth.

"Nice," Tonks said, nodding her head in approval. "That's _perfect_."

"Which is why I'm afraid to play in the match tomorrow," Sirius said. "No telling what would happen or where I'll end up."

I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by shrill, high pitched, _annoying_ laughter. We all turned and saw a gaggle of girls, all smiling and twirling their hair flirtatiously.

"Idiots," Lily muttered.

"You know what? I'm tired of this," Sirius said, sitting up next to me.

"Me too," I agreed, looking anywhere but at the girls.  
>Sirius grinned mischievously. "You want to really tick them off?"<p>

"Sure. How?"

"Like this." He leaned forward, put his hands on my shoulders, and kissed me. Again. But this time, I wasn't _completely _stunned, because not even a second later, I found myself kissing him back.

"What. The. _Hell?"_ Tonks shrieked, but I barely heard her. He was so insistent… And then it dawned on me that I was snogging Sirius Black. I pulled away and shoved him over.

"I agree with Tonks!" I yelled.

"You said you wanted to make them mad, so I showed you," he said simply. "And look, it worked." He was right. The girls were fuming, along with their mouths opened unattractively in disbelief of what they'd witnessed.

"You know, I think that was a bad idea to do that in front of them," Sirius mused. "I think I just made it worse for you."

One of the girls, a petite artificial blonde with dull brown eyes came over and loomed above us, her hands on her hips, glaring at me.

I met her gaze evenly and I stood up, towering above her. This was one of my usual attackers; Theresa McFarland, a sixth year Hufflepuff who seemingly thought she was irresistible.

"Good afternoon Theresa," I said in a mocking friendly tone.

"You'd say that wouldn't you?" she spat. "Why don't you just leave him alone instead of throwing yourself on him? He doesn't want you."

"I—"

"Actually," Sirius interrupted my protests. He stood up and put an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "I do want her, and I don't care if she _'throws herself at me'_. She's my girlfriend; so quite frankly, she can do whatever she wants to me. But I suggest you back off before I take her problems into my own hands." Theresa's eyes widened and she looked at me for any indication he was lying.

I smiled sweetly at her, and just to sell it out, I put my arm around Sirius and whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "Let's go somewhere more private, shall we?" Theresa huffed and stomped off, taking her group with her.

"What place do you have in mind, then?" Sirius asked.

I punched his arm (making sure it would leave a bruise) and said, "Don't _ever_ do that again without telling me first."

"I'm sorry. Kind of," he said, smiling cockily. I couldn't shake the feeling that he'd liked it. Hell, if I was going to be honest, _I _liked it. But I would _never _admit that to _anyone_.

"You should be fully sorry!"

"Nah, kind of works fine for me. I think we did a good job."

"K, well, now that they're gone can I ask you two something?" James asked. We turned around to take in all of their shocked faces.

"Um, sure…" I said.

"How come you two didn't tell us?" Tonks yelled, unable to keep herself contained.

"Screw that!" James said. "Why didn't you tell _me?"_

"Tell you what?" Sirius asked innocently.

"You two are—"

"No!" I exclaimed, interrupting Lily.

"Really?" Remus asked.

"Yes! I don't even like him like that!"

"That's not what it looked like," James said, grinning devilishly. "You sure seemed to respond to him when he snogged you. It's almost like you two have done it before." He seemed to think about what he said. "Well, not done _it_, but kissed."

"Did not! I mean, have not! Urg! You know what I mean!" I denied. But I could tell they didn't believe me. Stupid blush. You betray me.

"M'just telling you what I saw," James said.

"What's your excuse Black?" Tonks asked. "You started it." If Sirius was uncomfortable, he didn't show it. I almost thought he was going to tell them about our first kiss, but I was relieved, for some reason, when he didn't.

"Acting," he said simply. There was silence, and then all of our friends (including Peter!) burst out laughing.  
>Sirius glanced at me. "Did you spike their morning drink?"<p>

"No. Did you?"

"No."

"Mate, I don't think that was 'acting'," Remus said. Sirius turned just a little bit red.

"Aye Moony. Looked like way more than that," James said. "I mean, did you see his face when she kissed him back? I thought he was going to faint!"

"Oh. Ha-ha," Sirius said. "Like I said; acting. My feelings are the exact same as hers for me." They all exchanged amused glances.

"You guys think that then," Lily said. "So, Sirius solved Nike's problem…now what about Sirius'?"

"Oh! And how long are you two going to keep up this 'act'?" Tonks asked.

"It ends right here," I said. "And I'm going to go fix his problem right now. See you guys later." I walked off towards the Quidditch field.

"Aren't they some friends," Sirius huffed when he caught up to me. "Not believing us like that."

"That's just typical," I replied, keeping my eyes averted. "But listen to me, Black. _Stop _kissing me."

He gave me puppy-dog eyes. "Aww…_why_?"

I lifted my fist, glaring, and he held up his hands, taking a step back. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! No more kissing you unless you say it's okay." He rolled his eyes. "So…what'cha gonna do to get me out of this mess?"

"Probably the same thing you did."  
>He smirked. "Oh, so soon already? Really, I have no problem snogging in front of people, so pucker up, baby—"<p>

"Can it," I snapped, punching him. "I wasn't talking about the snogging part. I mean the telling them off part."

"Oh. Well I'll overlook my disappointment if the attacks will stop."

"How long have they been doing it to you?" I asked sympathetically.

"Since the last time I saw you."

"Wh-what?" I stuttered. And all the sympathy evaporated. "You mean to tell me that I went through this the _whole time _we've been back, and you _just now_ decided to help me out? And you went through this for a _little over an hour_, and you expect _me_ to help _you now?"_

"Umm…"

"I don't understand you Sirius Black," I sighed.

"Most females don't." I ignored him and looked up in the sky to watch the guys attempting to play Quidditch. However, there were some familiar faces, like Derek and Almaert Finlay.

"So what are you going to do?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not sure," I replied, frowning. "I don't know if I should just talk to them, make a statement, or make them mad."

"I like choices two and three," he said, grinning.

"You would. Which is why, since I'm currently mad at you, I'll go with choice one." Taking my wand out, I muttered, "Accio broom." Seconds later a broom came zooming out of the Quidditch equipment shed. I hopped on it and flew up to the guys. Derek was the first to see me.

"Hey Nike!"

"Hi!" I replied cheerily.

"You wanna play?" Finlay asked.

"No, not right now, thanks. I actually wanted to question you guys about my friend down there." We all looked down to see Sirius casually standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"Black?" Finlay asked. "What bout 'im?"

"Well, I'd gotten word that some of the male population at this school has kinda gotten all bent out of shape because of a nonexistent relationship between us."

Finlay glanced at Derek, who was trying to look cool and collected, and then back at me.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Nike, okay?" he said.

"I'm listening," I said.

"Well, one of your fellow Gryffindors had told us that he'd been using and abusing you. And by the looks of you lately and how often you're in the Hospital Wing, the rest of us thought it was true. And it isn't right for that to happen to you."

"I appreciate your guys' concern, but Sirius isn't doing either of those things. And, I can take care of myself, just not with magic while we're in school."  
>Finlay looked relieved. "Well I'm glad to hear that. Black isn't a bad guy, anyways, I guess. So, you sure you don't want to play?"<p>

"No, I've got other things to do. Besides, I can't let you or the Ravenclaws in on my secrets if we're gonna play you both this week," I said, grinning wickedly.

"You Gryffindors," he laughed. "Some of you are smart."

"And don't you forget it!" I said, and then I flew back to Sirius.

"That was quick," Sirius remarked as I sent the broom back to the shed.

"Yep. But there's one more thing we have to do," I said.

"What?" he asked.

"Put your arm around me and then we're going to walk away at a slow pace." He looked surprised, but he did as I said. With his arm casually slung across my shoulders, we started to walk away.

"May I ask why?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. I'm taking the blame off your shoulders and putting it on someone else's."

"Whose?"

"You'll see. Three…two…one…" I heard someone curse and I sensed something coming (with a feeling of dread) towards us. I shoved Sirius out of the way and I felt like I was being stabbed with something and whipped multiple times. My legs felt like lead, and I fell to the ground, which was covered with…blood?

"Derek Farr! What the hell did you do?" Finlay yelled.

"Nike? Oh gods, that's a lot of blood," Sirius said, his scared expression coming into my narrow line of vision.

"Ow," I said stupidly, touching my back.

"Hold on," he said. "I'm gonna take you to the Hospital Wing." He picked me up carefully, and then yelled over his shoulder, "One of you run ahead and tell Madam Ashton what has happened!"

"S'not so bad," I muttered. "I'm sure I've been through worse."

"You mean to tell me you've had your whole back torn to shreds before?" He shook his head angrily. "Why didn't you let me take it?"  
>I coughed. "Well…the blame's all on Derek now—"<p>

"If this was the cost I would've gladly taken whatever they threw at me!"

"Don't interrupt me," I snapped weakly. My head was starting to feel light and my vision was swimming. To say the least; I felt like crap. "I didn't think he would've used a spell _that_ bad."

"Hey, we're almost there," Sirius said, worry seeping into his words. If I had to make a guess…I would say I looked pretty bad for _him_ to be freaked out _this bad_. But it was just a guess.

"Don't…die…or anything," he said quietly.  
>I chuckled, and then coughed. "Yeah, right. Me, die like this? Not gonna happen, Padfoot. You're stuck with me, sorry."<p>

"Oh good heavens!" shrieked the Healer. "I didn't think it was this bad! Mr. Black, bring her in here." The light dimmed some and we were in the all-too-familiar Hospital Wing.

"Lay her down on her front so I can see all of her back," the Healer instructed in a concerned voice. Sirius complied and turned my head so I wouldn't suffocate. He crouched so he could look at me.

"You'll be fine. Madam Ashton can fix up anything, I would know," he said, trying to assure me. "I won't leave you until you're ready to leave. That way you're not alone."

"Thanks," I told him. He took my hand and squeezed it softly.

"Oh this is bad," the Healer muttered to herself, making me think the situation was worse than I had thought. "Mr. Black, can you help me clean this up? I've already stopped the bleeding, but I think it might be infected, and I can't use magic."  
>Sirius paled, which was saying something since he was almost as tan as me. "Yes ma'am." He got up and the Healer gave him instructions. Something was gently placed on my back in two different places, and it stung pretty badly. The pain was horrible, actually. And I was used to pain, I'd become accustomed to it…so…<p>

And then I couldn't take it anymore. With a gasp, I blacked out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh no! Nike's gonna die! Psh! Yeah right! Not yet, she won't! *cues evil laughter* I never did like Derek anyways...I'll be so happy when I get rid of him for this little stunt.**

**Anyways...it just seems like Sirius can't keep his hands (actually, more correctly, his _lips_) off of Nike! Man, is somebody lovestruck, or what? ;)**

**Okey-dokey! So lemme know what you thought! R&R guys! Or else no more chappys! And we're getting REALLY close to the end, so don't fail me now!**

**Nike**


	32. Chapter Thirty One

Chapter Thirty-one

The Snake Girl

* * *

><p>When I finally came to, I felt very disoriented. The good thing was the pain I remembered from earlier wasn't present.<p>

Thank Merlin for that.

I was about to go back to sleep when I heard voices.

"Are you sure she's gonna be fine?" James asked.

"Yeah. Ashton and I did everything we could," Sirius replied.

"That woman is one good Healer," Remus said.

"Thank the gods for magic," Lily said. "I don't see how she would've survived this healing the Muggle way."

"Actually," Sirius said, "she is."

"What d'you mean?" Tonks asked.

"I mean, for some reason, magical healing doesn't work on her. Ashton said that every time she's come in with an injury, magic has no effect on her body. She stopped the bleeding with magic, and thankfully it worked, but everything else had to be done the Muggle way, and her body has to heal on its own."

"Good thing Ashton's Muggle-born," James muttered. Just then the door opened.

"The Quidditch match starts in twenty minutes!" Peter squeaked.

"Thanks Wormtail," James told him.

"I can't go," Sirius said. "I promised her I'd stay until she left." He chuckled softly. "Not like I'd be able to focus anyways."

"Sirius Black!" Lily exclaimed. "That's about the sweetest thing that I've ever heard come out of your mouth!"

"S'okay Padfoot. I was gonna forfeit anyways. We won't play without Nik, and I'm sure we, too, wouldn't be able to concentrate."

My eyes popped open and I saw James heading towards the door.

"James Potter don't you dare take one more step!" Six startled glances met my glare.

"Nike!" Lily squealed.

"You're alive!" Tonks yelled.

"'Course I'm alive," I said. "I'm not dying anytime soon."

"How do you feel?" Remus asked.

"Great. Just great."

"Umm…is that sarcasm?" Peter asked attentively.

"Of _course_ not."

"Good to see you're already back to normal," James said, grinning.

"Now all I have to do is give you a couple more days before we can leave and I can go kick Farr's ass," Sirius said from beside me.

"Well, I'm leaving now," I said, meeting his gaze evenly. "But wait for a couple hours to kick his ass."

"Why?" Sirius asked, his grayish-blackish eyes showing anger.

"Because we have a Quidditch match to win."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're okay to play?" Sirius asked for the thousandth time.<p>

"Yes Sirius! I'm _fine_," I answered, sighing. If I were him, I'd be questioning the replacement for Derek for the next month. The poor boy looked out of his wits if you asked me.

"C'mon Black. Leave the poor girl alone," Jean said.

"'Cause no matter what you say or how she feels, you know she'll play anyways, despite what's good for her health," Amata agreed.

"I mean, even if you _are_ her boyfriend, I don't think Nike listens when she doesn't want to," Jean said, smirking.

"No, he's not my boyfriend," I protested.

"Uh-huh. Well, that's not what everyone else is saying that they heard," Amata said, rolling her eyes at me.

"No! Umm…well Sirius _did_ say that, although he was just fooling around," I said. "He didn't mean it; he was just trying to…help…me?" Even to my ears that story sounded fake.

"Honestly Nike," Jean said, sighing. "Probably _the_ hottest guy in the whole _entire_ school says you're his girlfriend, which means he obviously _really_ likes you, and you're in _denial?_ I really don't get you girl."

"If I were you, I'd be living it up," Jean agreed. "I even heard that you two—"

"Okaaayyy, then. I'm done talking about this if you don't mind. And the guy in question is right beside me, so…" I looked over at Sirius, silently telling him to agree that he didn't want to hear it either.

"Actually," Sirius said instead. "I'm quite interested in this topic. Tell me more." Amata and Jean laughed while I groaned.

"Really?" I asked him. "You couldn't be more helpful."

"I'm just sayin', Nike. Not everyone's as lucky as you," Amata said.

"I don't think even the other girls he's been with have held his interest as much as you," Jean said, shrugging.

"Really? We're still talking about this in front of him?" I asked, appalled. "If we must, can't we discuss this later? And, if I was his girlfriend, why the hell would you mention his past girlfriends to me?"

"'Cause you're cool like that. You aren't the jealous type," Jean said while she and Amata snickered.

"Hey! Listen up!" James yelled.

"_Jaaames,"_ Sirius whined. "We all know your speech by heart now. So can you just get to the point so we can get on with this match?"

"Please?" I added so Sirius wouldn't seem like a total brat.  
>James sighed. "Fine. Good luck and—"<p>

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is Ravenclaw, the smartest team out there, so actually use your head," Sirius grumbled while James glared at him.

"I was _going_ to say—"

"Bring pride to Gryffindor; don't get the Slytherins' hopes up—"

"Sirius!" James yelled. "_Shut-up!" _Sirius, for once, shut his mouth, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Be careful out there Nik," James said. "I don't want you hurt anymore." His eyes were full of that brotherly protectiveness that I'd grown used to him having for me.

"Thanks James. I'll take your wishes into consideration." James rolled his eyes and smiled at me.

"I expected nothing more," he replied, and our team walked out to the roaring crowd. Like with the Hufflepuffs, both Houses were torn between the two sides. However, as you could've guessed, the Slytherins were all for Ravenclaw, or anyone that was going against their life/death enemies. As you could probably tell, this was something the Ravenclaws undoubtedly hated.

The Ravenclaw team was made up of some muscular players, both male and female (some of who were almost if not as muscular as I was). I had seen them training once or twice, and I had to admit, they were good. So good that James was actually _concerned _with our chances. Peter wasn't even sure if we had the game in Merlin's Purse. So sad, I know. But that didn't daunt me. We'd beat them before even though it had been a close and intense game. But, like every other team, they had yet to score on me. With that in mind, I knew we still had pretty good chances.

As we stood in that circle I could feel all eyes on me from both teams and about 99.99% of the population in the stands. To say the least, I was feeling very uncomfortable.

"You're letting her play?" Gary, who was Ravenclaw's team captain and the best Chaser in whole school, asked finally, peering at James with a look I couldn't place.

"Yeah. Sad now? Thought you'd dominate with me out of the way?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and gazing into his intense hazel ones.

He smiled slightly. "No, but I'm glad you're here. You must not be hurt too badly if Potter's letting you play. He can be smart when he wants to." Remus chuckled softly from behind me.

"Umm…thanks. But you're still not gonna score on me," I said, smirking at Sirius' obvious displeasure over our conversation.

"Ha! We'll see about that," Gary said, eyes glowing in anticipation for the challenge.

Just then Adda walked on to the field, blowing her whistle merrily. I smiled at the sight of her. She was odd, yes, but that's what made her so lovable by the whole school.

"I know I don't even have to tell you to behave. You're all smart enough to know by now that cheating and uncalled for violence is not permitted on this field. And with that being said, good luck, be careful," Here she looked at me, "and may the best team win."

She released the balls, and then everyone took off.

Everything started out perfectly. Our team got the Quaffle first, Sirius and Remus had already launched the Bludgers at enemy targets, and James' eyes were peeled for the Golden Snitch, which every now and then would glint in the bright sunlight, sending him and Ravenclaw's Seeker off on a race that they both would lose because the Snitch had already disappeared.

But that was only five minutes into the game, and I couldn't shake the thought that something was going to go wrong.

It wasn't the fact that our teams were so evenly matched. Nor was it the fact that Gary kept intercepting our team's passes. It wasn't even a fact. It was a feeling. A feeling that something that wasn't quite right was going to happen. It was a dark foreshadowing of what was to come.

I caught Gary coming towards me out of the corner of my eye.

_Center,_ his actions read. I moved to get ready, and I locked eyes with him. He grinned, released the ball and then everything disappeared.

Black light flooded my vision, and out of the darkness jumped a lean figure with pale, glowing skin, and unfathomable black eyes. Her short, curly, dark brown hair framed her cruel yet beautiful face. Her gaze met mine and a high-pitched hissing noise escaped her lips. And that hissing formed words.

"_Six months and twenty-one days…"_

Everything flashed back into focus so suddenly that I almost fell to the ground. I lifted my head just in time to see the Quaffle soar right through the goal behind me. There were gasps and everyone on both the field and in the stands were frozen in shock. Gary looked at me startled, like he couldn't believe that really happened. All along the whole thing with him trying to score on me and me always catching had been like a game that we would play, not actually trying to gain anything by it.

But I still couldn't think. My brain was fuzzy, and I could still hear that echoing hiss and dread filled me.

I felt a sharp stab in my back and it felt like someone had just kicked me in the chest. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

_Something's coming…_ I kept thinking over and over again.

"She needs help!" Gary shouted. "Something's wrong!" In seconds he was at my side, but once again I lost sight of that bright sunny day and was sucked into the never-ending blackness.

"_I'm getting closer…"_

I glimpsed the girl again, and then her features twisted and in her stead, a huge snake was coiled in front of me, baring its huge, poisonous fangs and swaying back and forth in a fluid motion in an unknown rhythm. It locked its sickly yellow eyes on mine, and, without warning, it lept forward with unimaginable speed and locked its teeth around my neck. It closed its mouth and the pressure forced the air out of my lungs, making it impossible to breathe.

_Don't let it get much of your blood,_ cautioned a powerful male voice inside my head. But my fogged up brain could barely form a coherent thought. So it was a surprise when a thought coursed through my being. One single thought that held more power than I could have thought; _fire._

My skin started to glow and steam. It turned even darker, and then without warning, flames engulfed my skin, raising far above my head, doing a beautiful, blood-thirsty dance.

The snake and the girl, along with other voices that I couldn't place, let out a blood-curdling scream and disappeared, as did my consciousness. Again. Merlin, how many times in a row was this going to happen?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Only one review? Wow, I'm extremely disappointed! C'mon guys, there's basically TWO chapters left! Give me full support please so we can move on to the next one! We're getting closer to what this whole series is going to be about, and I can't wait to begin! Because really, all throughout this book, _nothing _of any consequence has happened yet, aside from building friendships and making enemies.**

**Well, anyways, my thank-you:**

Eclipse Sundown**: Eh…punching is fun! But only if I get to punch you back! Thanks for your review! Hope you liked this one!**

**Alrighty, guys, so R&R please!**

**Nike**


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

Chapter Thirty-two  
>There's No Mistaking the Facts Now<p>

* * *

><p>I woke up to smoke. But the odd thing about this smoke was that it wasn't suffocating me.<p>

"Let me see that burn of yours," I heard a woman say.

"S'not that bad," a man replied.

"I don't care what you think. I said let me see it."

I opened my eyes and jumped. I was completely engulfed in flames.

"Why the hell am I on fire?" I asked Gary in a squeaky voice. He raised an eyebrow at me and smiled slightly. I looked him over and sucked in a breath.

"What the hell happened to _you?_''' He probably had a third degree burn (at the best!) on his hands, torso, arms, and face. Not to mention what was left of his hair was barely hanging on his head and his clothes were charcoaled.

"Told you she'd take it well," James said from the door.

I shakily reached my hand out to Gary so I could heal him, but stopped when I saw I was still on fire. I thought of water, and out of nowhere water drenched me to the bone, extinguishing the fire immediately. I spit the water out of my mouth and ignored James' and Gary's laughter.

"You've got to learn how to control that," James said.

"Oh shut-up," I muttered. I held out my hand to Gary, and he took it without asking any questions. But just before I started to heal him, Madam Ashton reappeared in the room carrying a goblet.

"Here's the potion. Drink it now," she said, handing him the glass. He drained it and his burns started to fade almost instantly. In no time his skin was back to its normal, dark, healthy glow.

"All better now," she said. "Let me check on Nike, then you two may leave."

"Umm…Napier?" James said hesitantly.

"Yeah, I know. I'm bald," Gary replied, laughing softly.

"I'll fix that," I said, jumping away from the Healer and her outstretched hands.

I put my other hand on his head and pictured his black hair just the way it was; short, curly, and soft. It appeared, looking good as new, and it only took me one minute to untangle my fingers from his curls.

James chuckled softly but kept his smart-elic comments to himself, thank Merlin.

"What happened out there?" Madam Ashton asked, trying not to look awed at what I had done.

"She was on fire—" James laughed even louder. "Literately," Gary said, smirking. He, too, I'd found out, had our sense of humor. If James and Sirius gave him half a chance, they'd all get along _really _well! Actually…maybe I _didn't _want that…

"Why did you set yourself on fire?" she asked me.

"I don't remember," I lied. She bought it.

"Well, you're unscathed except for two puncture wounds on your neck, but they don't seem to be bothering you or bleeding, and he's as good as new, so you two can leave."

"Puncture wounds?" I asked hesitantly. I ran to a mirror and peeled soaking fabric away from my neck. Sure enough, there were two large, identical round circles right where I'm sure that huge snake had bit me. The bites were weird, though. They weren't oozing or even puffy or red. They didn't look remotely nasty. They had already faded to shiny, pink scars. I became dizzy and staggered backwards, placing a hand on the marks. They were burning hot and clammy.

Madam Ashton gave me a strange look. "Yes. From the looks of the two puncture wounds, you've had them for years." She frowned. "I think we need to check for a concussion."

"Nope! Honestly, I'm fine! I just…I just went brain-dead for a second. I remember exactly how I got them now."

I could tell she didn't _exactly _believe me, but she let it slide and dismissed us.

"Who won the match?" I asked when we were in the corridors. James and Gary exchanged glances.

"We lost," James finally said.

"What?"

"I heard Napier yell something about you and when I looked back, I forgot to grab the Snitch because you'd just burst into flames. Napier's Seeker got it before he realized what'd happened," James said, upset.

"I tried to call it off, that and I tried to erase that goal off your record, but mine and Slytherin's Head of House protested against it and the Headmaster agreed with them. I really am sorry," Gary said.

I put my head against the wall, trying to get it together.

"Nike?" James asked after a minute of silence from me. "It wasn't your fault."

"You okay?" Gary asked, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I took a deep breath and then stepped away from the wall before I beat my head against it.

"Yeah," I said. I was taken aback by the emotion radiating off of him. Normally he was so unreadable. I just wanted to stand there and gawk at this side of him, but, of course, I smirked and said,

"Don't get to cocky with that one goal, 'cause it ain't happenin' again."

"Wouldn't think of it," he smirked. "See ya around Keep."

"I'd better, Napier." He smiled (which was another thing I hadn't seen him do in public), and then nodded at James.

"Potter."

"Napier," James replied politely. Once Gary was gone, James raised a curious eyebrow at me.

"What?" The look he was giving me was confusing me.

"What's goin' on between you and Napier?" he asked, like it was the number one thing he needed to know. "I mean, I thought your kiss on New Year's was nothing, but now…now I'm not so sure…"

"You're a freak," I told him, rolling my eyes. I thought he'd have asked this _months_ ago. He was just a bit slow sometimes. Sad that _Weasley_ had beat him to it, huh?

"Yeah, that's already been established," James said airily. "So spill it."

"Isn't this 'girl talk'?" I questioned him, smirking.

"Yeah, well now that I have my Lily-flower and she has me, I feel bad for the rest of my fellow Marauders being alone, in a sense."

"So now you're going to play matchmaker? Isn't that...oh, I dunno, more of a _Sirius_ job?"

"That's corny, Nik."

"No, I didn't mean _serious_, I meant _Sirius."_

"Like I said..."

"Whatever. _You're_ playing _matchmaker_?"

"For us _Marauders_, yes. Oh! And Tonks, but you know her and Remus are practically a package deal."

"And Sirius?"

"Well, we all realized that you and him ain't happenin', so…I don't know. But he's doing pretty well on his own picking up girls, so I might leave it up to him."

"I worry about you James."

"Fine. I guess you won't tell me about your relationship with Napier—"

"'Cause there isn't one—"

"Yeah, whatever. So let's move on to a different subject."

"Like…?"

"What happened out there?" Here he showed genuine concern, not his just moments ago mischievousness.

"Promise not to tell the others yet?"

"Promise," he agreed wholeheartedly. I nodded and then told him about the weird vision-thing.

"So you're a Parselmouth?" he asked.

"I'm a _what_?" I wasn't sure if he'd just insulted me or not.

"A Parseltongue. They can talk to snakes. It's usually a Slytherin Heir trait."

"Heir?" I questioned.

"There are four Heirs to each House, which means they are the direct descendents of the four founders. For example, there's a ghost here that was the second and last Heir to Ravenclaw. Her mother was the one of the founders of the school, the founder of Ravenclaw, but she died before she had any kids, so she was the last Heir to that House."

"Oh."

James tapped his fingers against his leg, a thoughtful expression on his face. "And the snake bit you, you said?"

"Yeah." I pulled the fabric away to show him.

He came over and laid his fingers on it, and pulled back with a hiss. "It's burning hot, Nik. Look." He held up his fingers that had touched the marks, and they were bright red.

"Damn. This is so confusing."

He nodded. "You said a girl was there, speaking in Parseltongue?"

"Yeah. Something like that. I think," I muttered incoherently.

"Then you said you saw the girl again, and then a huge snake?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"What if the snake is her, or she's the snake?" James' eyes met mine. "And the snake you described…that's no good Nik."

"Why?"

"Because that snake…her name was Nagini. Voldemort's snake."

"Then that could be…" I trailed off, understanding. James nodded.

"That could be a sure sign that Voldemort is back."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yup, so, one chappy at a time now, just because there's TWO chapters left! Yes, TWO chapters left before book one is done! Are you guys as excited/sad as I am? Why am I sad? Well, I dunno…it's just been really exciting because this was my first FanFic ever, and now it's damn close to finally being complete! And of course I'm excited, because now…now the journey begins!**

**Anyways, my thank-you's:**

pikachucat**: Why thank you! Hope this one suits you just fine, too!**

Eclipse Sundown**: Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm workin' on it. I've gotta bring out SOME suspense, ya know? :)**

**Alrighty! So, with all of this being said…R&R guys! Thanks!**

**Nike**


	34. Chapter Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty-three

And the Winner Is...

* * *

><p>I couldn't believe it! School was almost over.<p>

Today was our last full day here at Hogwarts, and tomorrow we left for the train home for the summer. For me, it would be off to the Potter's house, and I can't say that I wasn't thrilled about it. Their house was becoming my second home. Yes, _second. _Strange enough, Hogwarts had become my _real _home.

The universe has such an odd way of how it makes things turn out, to put in a simple way.

So that full day we Marauders (which I was "officially" one of them, now, they had decided), Tonks, and even _Lily _snuck out to Hogsmeade and spent the full daylight hours just fooling around and enjoying our time together. Remus, Lily, Tonks, and Peter would be coming to James' house this summer, but later on after they'd spent a reasonable amount of time with their, uh, _blood-related _families. I'd also promised Tonks that I would meet her parents and, the same went with Lily for me, stay for awhile at their houses. And, with a slight hesitation (on his part, not mine) I would meet Remus' mum and stay with him, too.

"You know who else you have to meet this summer?" Sirius asked when we all were in the Three Broomsticks drinking Butterbeer, which was one of the best drinks _ever, _I'd found.

My friends, who I'd convinced not to be scared of me and treat me normally (namely, the house-elves, if you couldn't tell) always made me, and the others when I brought them along, some of that delicious drink. They and Sirius had even began to get along. Amazing, I know. But I'd found out the only reason Sirius hadn't trusted the house-elves in the first place was because of the certain only evil one that lived in his not-really-"home". Other than that, they got along great and even joked around together and respected one another (as much as they could, which was a good start). It was astonishing how much had changed this year with _all _of my friends. I'd never expected it to turn out this good.

"Who?" I asked. Sirius had yet to name anyone, which didn't surprise me really, considering his family who he'd still yet to tell me about. Andromeda, Tonks' mum, was really close to Sirius, even before Tonks and Sirius got along. Andromeda was his cousin, and Tonks was his second-cousin, I think. When you thought about it, it was really strange that he and Tonks didn't get along for the longest time, considering they must've spent a lot of time with each other during their childhood. Actually, that's probably why they _didn't_ get along, come to think of it…

"My Uncle Alphard," he said with a smile. Lily looked at him, confused, while Remus, Tonks, and James nodded their agreement. Peter just stared at him, uncomprehending.

"You actually get along with _three _of your family members?" Lily asked.

"Uncle Alphard is the best!" Tonks shrieked. "He's everything a Black isn't! _And _he was in Slytherin and he's not evil!"

"Thanks Tonks," Sirius said dryly.

"I wasn't including you," Tonks snapped. "Not everybody talks about you, you know."

"Guys," James groaned. "C'mon. Not—"

"So are you saying your mum is one of them?" Sirius demanded. "'Cause she isn't. And _she _was sorted into Slytherin as well."

"Why don't you go—"

"So who's this Uncle Alphard you four seem to love so much?" I interrupted them. They both turned to face me, their argument forgotten.

"He's…" Tonks trailed off, thinking.

"He's one of those individuals who you don't know how to describe," Sirius said, smirking. "He's one of those that you have to meet to get it."

"Now I'm scared," I muttered.

"Don't. There's no need to," Remus said after he finished laughing.

"You'll love him," James said, nodding in agreement.

"Who'll love who?" Peter asked, looking up, confused.

"Nike'll love Uncle Alphard."

"Who's Uncle Alphard?" Peter asked.

James and Sirius laughed, Remus and I rolled our eyes, and Lily and Tonks looked at him, worried.

"What I say? What's so funny?" Peter questioned.

"Nothing Wormtail," I sighed.

* * *

><p>"Settle down students!" Professor Vera bellowed.<p>

Most quieted, cutting off their conversations mid-sentence, but just because we could, we Marauders and Tonks (not including Lily and Peter, of course) finished saying what we had to.

The Headmaster stood at his podium, foot tapping impatiently while sending a hideous glare our way.

"Alrighty! You're good, Professorhead!" I yelled to him, using a word Peevesie had taught me.

"Thank you for your permission, your highness," the Headmaster said dryly.

"Nik! You're a royal? My gods, why didn't you tell me?" James exclaimed, rising to his feet and bowing down before me from the other side of the table.

I shrugged. "It never seemed important to enlighten you puny peasants with the information."

"We're hurt, Nik," Sirius said.

"Truly, utterly, beyond repair _broken_," Remus agreed, mocking a pained heart.

"Well—"

"Nike, my dear?"

"Yes, Weasley, my friend?" I asked innocently, batting my eyes at him. It was amusing watching him battle to keep from rolling his eyes and laughing.

"Shut-up."

"Yes sir. As you wish sir. Whatever you—"

"I meant the type of shutting-up as in when you keep your mouth closed, sweetheart."

"Yes sir. I-I'm done now," I said when he gave me a look.

"Let's just get this over with," Professor Vera muttered. "First we'll go over Quidditch statistics. Hufflepuff, with five wins this season, is in last place. Slytherin, with six wins, is in third place. With only nine losses, in second place, is Ravenclaw. And that leaves, with one loss this season, Gryffindor in first place."

Cheering erupted from every table (minus the Slytherins', of course), including the professors'. It had been a great season; you had to give us credit for that, if nothing else.

"It seems like no one understands that the damn _'sport'_ isn't everything," the Headmaster snapped. But this time he didn't get a reaction from any of us students. We were still overly excited.

"Alright, shut your traps so we can get this over with," he growled. "In last place with one hundred fifteen house points is Slytherin." Absolutely no sound was heard anywhere, so he continued. "In third place, with three hundred thirty-two house points is Hufflepuff. Second place goes to Ravenclaw with four hundred ninety-nine house points, and first place goes to Gryffindor with five hundred house points exactly."

The whole room suddenly was filled with our House's color, decorating the place in our honor. There were tons of shouted congratulations among friends from separate Houses.

"Yay! We did it!" Tonks yelled above everyone else in the school. I guess being a commentator gave you that ability. "Woo-hoo! Guess who owes me even _more _money? That would be _YOU_ MALFOY!"

I raised an eyebrow at Tonks. "You keep gambling with him?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Where to start? Let me give you my two main reasons." She started counting them off on her fingers. "One; because he always loses and, two; because it's so funny to actually see him pay up."

"Oh. Makes perfect sense."

"It does, doesn't it?" she said, grinning wryly.

"Congratulations Gryffindor and yadda-yadda. Don't expect to win next year," he added in a low tone towards our direction.

"Hey Headmaster?" Sirius said sweetly in a voice that carried. "Go screw yourself so we're not tortured by the sight of you for one more painful second."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, I'd really like more reviews. One chapter left! Seriously, if this is how it's going to be, only one review, I don't think I'll EVER put the second book up! So, PLEASE guys! If you read, you review!**

**My thank-you:**

Eclipse Sundown**: Ha, hatred is good, yes? :)**

**Alrighty, so hope you enjoyed this short (only four pages long) little chappy, and PLEASE R&R! Next chapter is very last one of first book! **

**Nike**


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

**A/N: So I'm gonna switch things up and put this first, and I'm sorry it's so long.**

**I want to thank everybody who has read, reviewed (30 reviews!), favorited (22 favorites!), and alerted (20 alerts!) this story. It meant so much (still does, actually), and I can't believe so many of you stuck with me. Thanks so much! **

**My thank-you's for last chappy's reviews:**

Elizabeth: **Alrighty, so thanks soooo much for your review! I must admit it made me laugh! Hope this chapter made up for the missing chapter 34, and that you liked it! The next book will be up shortly, after I receive enough reviews, so I hope you'll look for that. I'm so happy you loved it, though! I'm sorry you're confused over everything…but let me explain. Yes, most things seem the same, but it's not necessarily the same. See, they're reincarnated into later versions of their family, so they have a second shot at what their lives should have been, in my opinion. And in most of the pureblood wizarding families, they reuse names more often than not, so not **_**all **_**of the familiar names are the reincarnated ones, they're just named the same, making this the perfect time for the ones who were reincarnated to come back. But that's all I'm gonna say, because I'll explain it in full later on. Glad you like Loony! I couldn't not have her, after all! It just **_**wouldn't **_**be the same! Thanks for your wonderful review!**

Eclipse Sundown: **Yup, I saw. Thanks!**

**And, yes, well, if you're interested, book two will be coming up right after this as soon as I get at **_least_**five reviews over this chapter. That is my deal. If you really loved this story, prove it to me, and you shall be rewarded with book two, which will simply be called **_Renegade; The Ankh-shifter, Book Two_.** The title is for the song "Renegade" by Chris Daughtry (music will have a huge impact on the next book) because it sorta explains of lot of the emotion and whatnot that will be going on in the next book.**

**Also, don't forget to read the prequel to this series, **_The Healing Touch__**,**_** because that book will have a MAJOR impact on the second book. That being said, it's not done, therefore I will have to take it slow with updates on book two until I get that one finished. So, lend me a hand and give me some support on **_The Healing Touch_**, that way we can get in full swing with book two!**

**So, with all that being said, review please! And remember, at least **_**five reviews**_**, and the next is coming up soon!**

**I hope you enjoyed the first installment and wish you will stay tuned for the next. Remember! ****FIVE REVIEWS****!**

**Until then, good-bye my friends!**

**~Witchy Nike~**

* * *

><p>Chapter Thirty-four<p>

What a Way to Kick Off the Summer

* * *

><p>"I'm so glad you decided to stay with us, Nike dear," Mrs. Potter was saying as she and Mr. Potter led me inside, leaving James and Sirius to get the luggage.<p>

"Thanks for offering you guys," I said, earning a hug from Mrs. Potter. Mr. Potter put an arm around my shoulders and said,

"Anytime. As far as we're concerned, you belong here."

"What a nice change," I said, grinning.

"So how was your first year at Hogwarts?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"It was…definitely interesting," I said at last.

"Just interesting?" James asked, coming up beside me, two suitcases in each hand. "Come on, admit it."

"Admit what?" I questioned.

"You can't think of any other words to describe how blessed you were to be around us Marauders for an _entire _year?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"Really," I assured him. "Wait!" I tapped my finger against my temple. "I _do _have two more words, come to think of it."

"Really?" James' eyes lit up. "I knew you'd see the truth soon enough!"

"_Pure_ torture."

"Exactly! See? We make everybody's lives pure tort—" James abruptly quit talking. "Oh ha-ha-_ha_! Love you too, Nik. I should've known there was no way _anyone_, even someone as remarkable as you, could describe their experience with the Marauders in _just _two words."

"Should'a, would'a, could'a," I said airily, waving a hand dismissively at him.

"Oh! James," his mum said, suddenly thinking of something.

"Yes mum?"

"Felicity said she would be coming to visit in a couple of weeks."

"Aunt Fel?" Sirius asked, appearing in the doorway.

"She said it had been too long since she'd seen her boys."

"Do you think Remus would be able to come at least for a day or two?" James asked.

"I'm sure we can arrange it. Felicity would be disappointed if we hadn't," Mr. Potter said.

"Can I change my name to Clueless?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Nike," Mrs. Potter said. "I'd forgotten you haven't been around for three years."

"And we can't believe our good fortune over that," Sirius said, smirking.

"Oh shut-up," I said, shoving him over the back of the couch. There was a loud _BANG! _as he hit the floor.

"Ah, he's alright," James said as his mum peered over the couch. "That happens all the time in the common room."

"She's a violent murderess! I can see why the Ministry is after her!" Sirius wailed. "Hhhhhheeeeeellllllpppppp mmmmmeeeeee! I'm her first victim!"

"And that, too, is normal. The first time he started screaming about a killer loose in the common room he had everyone scared sick and running for their lives in mass confusion, trampling one another to be the first to get out the portrait hole," James explained to his parents, who both looked equally amused.

"Nice to know that Gryffindor is still exciting," Mr. Potter said. "It wouldn't be the same if it were dull. I can't remember once in the past two hundred years that there hasn't been at least one student that made life interesting."

"Please no history lessons dad," James groaned. "It's summer and I _really _don't want to learn anymore until September comes around."

"_Any_ways," Mrs. Potter cut in. "Felicity is my best friend. We've known each other since we were three. We went to Hogwarts together, too. She was in Hufflepuff and I in Gryffindor. Her parents died in our fifth year because they didn't join the Death Eaters in seeking a way to bring back Voldemort. So she came to live with me. When James was born, we made her his godmother."

"Oh. Then why do they call her—"

"Aunt? 'Cause she's like mum's sister. They look alike too," Sirius said, getting up from the floor.

"What're your plans for this summer?" Mrs. Potter asked.

All three of us looked at each other then shrugged.

"We don't really have very many plans. We'll play it by ear," James said.

"Gonna relax?" his dad asked.

"Nope," Sirius said, grinning. "Not in the least."

"That's what we figured," he said.

"But be sure to share Nike with us and give her time to herself," Mrs. Potter warned them. "Or you, too, might not live to see another school-year."

"We could live with that," the two said in unison.

"Or the next Quidditch season," she taunted.

"Nooooo!" James yelled, blanching.

"Anything but that!" Sirius screamed. He fell to the floor, clutching his chest like he'd been wounded. "Oh the horror!" he croaked out in a raspy voice. He then closed his eyes, fell on his face, and pretended to be dead, tongue hanging out and all.

"Thank Merlin that old nuisance is gone," I said.

"Alright. Dinner will be in about an hour," Mrs. Potter said, rolling her eyes and heading into the kitchen. "Go and get settled."

I grabbed my two suitcases from where James had set them down and went upstairs. I was confused only for a moment on how to get to my room, but then I remembered it could be directed by thoughts. No sooner had I thought of the door did it appear.

I stepped inside and was pleased all over again with it. It was very roomy and had an antique yet modern feel. The colors and furniture were the same as last time, but when I opened the closet door I found the clothes that Mrs. Potter had bought me hung up and folded neatly in the dresser. Also on the desk there was ink and a quill, and in the desk cabinets were extra ink and quills and tons of parchment. The bookshelf next to the desk had also been filled with books that weren't there last time.

I set my suitcases down on my bed and opened them up so I could put everything away. I grabbed a stack of shirts and headed for the closet when everything suddenly went dark.

_Oh shit,_ I thought. _Not this again!_

The girl appeared again and stared me down with her cold, heartless eyes. She opened her mouth and spoke in the same terrible hissing sound as last time. And I had no choice but to hear her words.

_I will find you…_

Her features started to twist until she became the frightening snake that I had set on fire. It looked at me with hate-filled eyes and hissed,

_Three months and thirty days…_

It swung its massive tail and hit me in the chest, flinging me back into the wall. I looked at it one last time before everything went dark; the last thing I heard was,

_You will die._

To Be Continued…


End file.
